Vile Rose
by Silver Countess
Summary: [AeriSeph] Deals with the reversal of roles. What happens if Aeris suddenly went insane and it was up to Sephiroth to stop her from destroying all life on the Planet?
1. Prologue

Author's notes: Depicts AeriSeph pairing. If you don't like it, then go away. Reviews are welcome. Flames are not. Flamers will only be pointed and laughed at and ignored.

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7. I don't own Squaresoft. Please your head. All original character belong to me. Take them and die. And yes, I have PMS. 

* * *

**Vile Rose  
**Prologue  
By Silver Countess

Professor Scot Daniels strode out of his tent as he followed his excited student through the ruins with workers and scientists carefully scrapping the soil to reveal bones and artifacts hidden beneath. He had been spending more than half his life in this desolate northern area searching for clues about the life of the past. But so far they have unearthed very few almost meaningless things. Broken urns, a sculpture or two, and bones of an old prehistoric monster were the usual finds.

But not today.

No, today was very special. He had earlier unearthed what looked to be the remains of a small underground temple. The student then led him to a small tunnel and together they entered holding flashlights to help illuminate the dark interior.

Five minutes later the professor was standing in the interior of a small room. The student along with several assistants then began lighting torches to bring light to the dim room. The moment the torches were lit a collective gasp filled with air.

The walls were filled with ancient writings and murals, and urns filled with incredible treasure—not of gold—but with scrolls written in the same language as the walls. But the most amazing thing was found in the center of the room.

It was a huge life like statue of a nude man and woman in an embrace.

The student who brought him here was smirking as he dragged the amazed professor to the foot of the statue. "And that's not all. Take a look at this," he knelt down and took a small red orb, probably materia and placed it into the slot. "I knew this thing was good for something," he grinned as he began to explain. "I found this when I was digging at the northern area of the site."

"The Sleeping Forest?" the amazed professor finally spoke to which the student nodded. "Jarek! You know that place was dangerous—" but the student continued on as if not hearing him.

"The risk was worth it. The materia I found had an inscription on it so that was my clue that we were right all along, there is a temple beneath here! And then I found this," he gestured around the room.

The old professor laughed. "My dear boy, you are simply quite amazing! Your name will surely be in the books of history with this most extraordinary find."

The student named Jarek blushed at the compliment then the pair was silent, as a small hidden door appeared to reveal a huge book inside.

Professor Daniels cautiously took out the huge tome and opened it. To his surprise the pages of the book weren't made of paper but of gold. "By Ifrit…" the professor looked in awe as he held the book.

There were back in the tent. Both professor and student intent on translating the ancient scriptures. It took them several more months but Professor Daniels made a breakthrough. It was already past midnight and Jarek had fallen asleep but he had successfully translated the book with the aid of an old tablet he had found in the ruins that he had nicknamed, _Rose Tablet_.

His hand was trembling when he finally turned the page and the story began to leap at him. His excitement turned into horror then sadness as he read the story further. The sun was already dawning when he flipped the last page of the book. A tired sigh escaped his lips just as his student began to wake up from his slumber.

"Professor…?"

The old man didn't seem to hear him as he took out his glasses and rubbed his temple. Jarek seemed concerned as he pushed his own glasses up his nose and went to him. "Sir, are you alright? Do you want me to get your medicine?"

"No, no…" the old man said suddenly cutting him off. "It's not that." Jarek looked puzzled and then glanced at the book.

"Is it about the book? Did you finally get to translate it? What did it say?" the young man asked excitedly but the professor only sighed looking even sadder than before.

"That book has a very sad story to tell, my boy. A very sad story indeed. Because that book tells the story of the future, our present and the immediate future. That book, my boy, is the Book of Prophecy."

* * *

Crazy Pen Archives: Where the Pen is crazier than the sword.


	2. Chapter 1: The Voices

Author's notes: Depicts AeriSeph pairing. If you don't like it, then go away. Reviews are welcome. Flames are not. Flamers will only be pointed and laughed at and ignored.

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7. I don't own Squaresoft. Please your head. All original character belong to me. Take them and die. And yes, I have PMS. 

* * *

**Vile Rose**  
Chapter 1: The Voices   
By: Silver Countess 

Sunlight filtered through the broken stained glass windows of the chapel, one of the few places of the lower plate where the sun still shown through, illuminating the dilapidated interior of the church and filling it with warmth. 

A lone woman knelt at the center of the church. Head bowed, not in prayer to the gods, her mahogany locks cascaded down her shoulders as her hands busy tending the flowers blooming through the soil beneath the cracked boards. 

Emerald eyes lightened up as she saw one of the rose bushes had finally started to bloom. She gently placed a finger at the flowering bud and whispered to it. As if by magic, the bud shivered and began to unfurl its petals to reveal a beautiful red rose. 

Then quite suddenly, the soft smile disappeared from her as she crushed the rose into her delicate palm, ignoring the sting of the thorns imbedding her skin as she ruthlessly yank the flower off its stem. 

She gritted her teeth, clutching the remnants of the rose on her fist as hot tears began to form and cloud her vision. 

"Why?" 

The word came not by a shout but by a hoarse whisper. Her breathing grew rapid and the tears by now had streaked her face. She opened her palm to release the ruined flower and the thorns embedded on her skin and gazed at the blood now dripping from the small wounds. 

"Why?" 

That one word echoed with it a great deal of sorrow and terrible loneliness that cried out from the very core of her soul. She could never forget the years she had spent wondering what was wrong with her. Years spent searching, asking for questions, reasons why others seemed to either fear or scorn her, simply because she had this power… She held up her blood-streaked hand and saw that despite the freshness of the blood, there was no pain…and no wound to mar her flesh. 

It was her gift that had done this. This power contained not in a small orb of condensed Mako sold in materia shops across Midgar, but power that actually flowed through her veins and coursed through her blood. The innate power—or talent as an urbane gentleman would have called it—was the thing that set her apart from others and what had made her so different…so inhuman. 

_Church Witch_. _Devil Child_. 

Names whispered and hissed through others lips. Many of the slum dwellers seem to sense she was not completely human, as she often saw the contempt and wariness in their eyes every time she passed. Women hid their children from her. Men spat on the ground where she treads as the elderly bowed to pray to some forgotten god for mercy at the site of her. 

All these she bore with her head bowed in acceptance for some forgotten punishment of a crime committed by her ancestors. Strangely enough, only the orphaned innocents came to her, seemingly unafraid of the fact she was not completely human. 

That's right…not completely human. 

_Cetra._

A word whispered by some god-awful voice from her nightmares. The word she had only heard once or twice from Tseng, the same word that he used to describe her birth mother. 

_Ancient._ _Cetra._ Magical beings that were once said to have lived so long ago in the frozen wastelands of the North. A special race that had special gifts of healing and magic, the power to bring life in barrenness, to speak with the Planet and to converse with the unknown spirits, those were the very same gifts she too had and the same reasons people cringed away from her. 

She sighed, picked up her trowel and started to till the earth. Again and again she tried to brush away the ugly memories of her childhood but it kept on returning, as if goading her to remember those awful times. 

"Nobody loves you because you're a freak!" 

_Stop._

"Freak! Freak!" 

_Stop. Please..._

"Little witch who talks to ghosts! Nyah, nyah, nyah!" 

_Whatever did I do to make you hurt me?_

"Weirdo! You're not like us!" 

_I'm not! I'm not! I'm not any different...please stop..._

"My mommy says you're a demon because you can make plants grow here." 

_But I'm NOT a demon…why won't you believe me?_

"Because you're different from us, that's why." 

The children's horrible laughter still echoed on her ears and even on her dreams. Many nights she had wept on her pillow while her foster mother Elmyra soothed her to sleep. Soon she learned to avoid the children and their neighbors, focusing her attentions on her mother's garden and the flowers at the church. 

The trowel hit the earth with much harder force than it should as tears began to well up on her eyes again, asking to the silent gods 'why.' 

_Why_ indeed? Why did it have to be her to carry…this…curse? She thought angrily, remembering all the times when she spoke of the souls of those who had passed to the wrong people at the wrong time. She could still remember the sharpness of the rocks hitting her bare flesh and the loud shouts. And things even went downhill after that when the Planet's consciousness made itself known to her. 

The cry of the Planet was beyond endurance. The voices moaned, screamed and howled in her head in a terrible symphony that nearly drove her mad. She recalled how her body shook and her eyes clenched shut as she fought in vain to shut out the voices. 

And then she heard _them_. 

The voices of the long forgotten, of the Ancients that had lived joined with the cries of the Planet. Now there was not one but _two_ consciousness tormenting her and fought over her, both of them crying out their pain, their suffering and their anger. 

She didn't know what to do with them. The voice of the Planet was an echo to her constant suffering. The source of it all was the Mako reactors that constantly drained her of her lifeblood. The Planets cries were directed against Shin-Ra. 

The voices of the Ancients however were different. Their voices were clearer and their intentions were more than just vague, they were crystal clear. And it only wanted one thing. 

_Revenge._

Why they asked for it, she did not know_. _There were many things she did not know about her people, her mother had died too early for her to tell her anything. But what she knew was that the voices of the Ancients wanted no less than revenge and it was going to be through the blood of the thousands. 

She shivered as she continued to till the soil. Her body felt cold all over at the thought and the anguish the voices made her feel. The trowel began to till the earth faster, thrusting it hard into the ground. Her fear was suddenly replaced by anger, anger to what the Planet and the dead were doing to her. 

The dirt began to fly as she was now stabbing the ground brutally almost completely unaware of her surroundings until a small uncertain voice piped up behind her. 

"Ms. Aeris…?" 

That brought the emerald-eyed young woman back to reality. She blinked her eyes and turned around to see a frightened little dark haired girl in tattered clothing holding a basket of flowers. 

"Ruth?" 

The little girl's eyes lit up and came closer. Little Ruth noticed that she was sweating and looked quite a sight that she suddenly dropped her basket and ran toward her. "Oh, Ms. Aeris!" she cried out in worry. "What happened?" 

Aeris tried to smile reassuringly. "I'm alright Ruth," she said, as she self-consciously tucked a stray strand behind her ear and changed the subject. "So what brings you here? I thought you and Leo are playing." 

The girl smiled and nodded. "Yup, but a man stopped by to tell me to tell you that he'll be stopping by to see you in an hour." 

"A man?" The little girl nodded. 

"Yup! A tall man with red hair tied in a rat's tail. He had sunglasses and had strange scars on his face," she indicated by trailing two fingers at each cheek. 

Aeris smiled. She immediately knew who that man was. After all, she knew of only one man who fit that description. However the girl misinterpreted her smile and grinned. 

"Is he your boyfriend, Ms. Aeris? Ooooooohhh! Ms. Aeris has a boyfriend!" the child sang loudly. 

A blush stained Aeris cheeks as she tried to plant the seedlings into the soil. "Of course not! He's only just a friend." 

The little girl laughed. "Okay, if you say so," then she winked and skipped toward the church's door. Aeris waved goodbye and the little girl left, leaving Aeris to resume planting. 

She was patting down the earth when it happened. The voices of both the Planet and the Ancients screamed into her mind at once, causing her to fall to the ground her body shaking as she desperately tried to push them out of her mind. 

But it didn't stop, instead the voices intensified until it was too much for poor Aeris to bear and she lost consciousness on the church's floor. 

* * *

How long had it been since he watched the night sky like this? Flat on his back with only the sleeping back between him and earth. Five or was it six years ago? He couldn't really remember. He yawned just as a shooting star whizzed through the sky when he remembered. 

That's right…it was five years ago, on his last assignment to Nibelheim. 

_"You should be asleep."_

He smirked at the authoritative feminine voice that spoke to his mind. 

_"You have a lot of things to do tomorrow so you must rest."_

"I'm not sleepy," he answered back to the voice in his mind silently. The voice however wasn't amused and if it were possible sounded irritated by his stubbornness. 

_"Tomorrow is a big day for both of us, you know that don't you?"_

"Of course, of course," the man replied silently, rolling his beautiful green eyes upwards to what he knew would be another nagging. Ever since the voice inside his head had made itself known to him, he had barely had a moment's peace. Still he was not an ingrate. It was because of her that he was alive now. 

_"Do you still insist of remembering that?"_ Now the voice sounded amused, like a mother who has found her son to be playing the same puzzle over and over. 

He shrugs. "I can not help but think it. The memories still haunt me even in sleep." 

_"It is a way of the Mother to make you remember your mission,"_ the voice explained to him. He was surprised at the answer and why he didn't ask sooner. The voice only chuckled. 

_"Silly human, all you had to do was ask."_

The man rolled in his sleeping bag as his long silver hair shone underneath the moon and the stars. His long sword, a six-foot long katana lay within an arm's reach at his side as the campfire cackled merrily. 

_"One should do something with one's hair. You shine like a beacon even at night. Maybe a dye would suffice?"_

The man chuckled at the suggestion and closed his eyes to sleep as the memories of that fateful day began to return. 

* * *

"Damn, I just can't wait for this mission to be over!" 

Sephiroth glanced back at the spiky dark haired young man. "What has gotten over you today, Zack?" 

The man called Zack grinned at his superior officer and friend. "Well remember the babe I ran into at the clinic?" Sephiroth mentally banged his head on the wall, as he rolled his eyes silently. He should have known why Zack has been so excited. Ever since he had met this girl—Zack had refused to let him meet her for some obscure reason—he had started acting like an over infatuated school boy. Sephiroth had allowed Zack to yak all he wanted about her as he basically tuned out everything he had said, until something made him sit up and look at him attentively. 

"What did you just say?" 

Zack looked slightly annoyed. "Haven't you been listening? I said that I was planning to propose on my girlfriend when I get back." 

Sephiroth was surprised, he was happy for Zack but it was still very sudden. They had only known each other for barely a month, three weeks at most! 

The dark haired man noticed his stare and fished out from his pocket a small box and showed him the engagement ring. Zack looked smug at the surprised look in his commander's face when he pocketed the ring. 

"Congratulations," Sephiroth finally said, a little stunned. "So when do I get to meet the lucky lady?" 

"Probably not until _after_ the wedding ceremony. I don't want her to change her mind and all that." 

So that was why he didn't want him to introduce her. Sephiroth smirked. "Are you afraid I'd steal her away?" 

"Nahhh…not anymore anyway," he smirked back. The truck they were on suddenly went to a stop. "Hey we're here." 

Sephiroth nodded and stepped outside the outskirts of Nibelheim. He could hear Zack commenting with one of the soldiers about it being his hometown but he wasn't interested. They were there to investigate the mako reactor monsters that were terrorizing the village. 

They had been in the town for less than a day when Zack had been acting…strange. They were on the way to the Mako reactor in the Nibel Mountains when Zack had begun having strange nightmares. He spoke nothing of it and often shrugged it off. Soon Sephiroth noticed the dark rings under his eyes and how easily exhausted he became. Zack also kept muttering about the strange voices that were bothering him. By the time they had reached the Mako reactor he was a complete mess. 

Sephiroth had to send Zack back to the village and investigate the reactor alone. What he found there shook him to the core. Human…or what looked to be a humanoid monster placed inside the mako pods far longer than what was deemed safe. 

It made him sick just to look at it. He knew that SOLDIER were exposed to mako to enhance some physical abilities but to actually put a living breathing human for long periods of exposure… 

He shook his head and continued to inspect some of the pods. He noticed that some of the pods were either destroyed or open. The source of the monsters soon became quite apparent. He ordered his men to shut off the valve feeding that was feeding the pods with mako. Then he ordered them to systematically destroy the creatures inside by cutting off the oxygen supply. 

The men were busy with their orders when Sephiroth noticed a door marked 'Jenova' it was the name Hojo had told his mother had. He pushed a couple of buttons and the metal door slid open. 

Sephiroth stepped in and suddenly took a step back. Inside the small room was a huge cylindrical glass cage filled with liquid and submerged in the liquid, to his horror was, was a decomposing body of a woman. 

Sick at the sight he had seen, Sephiroth immediately left the room. 

Two days later they were back at Nibelheim. A soldier had reported to him that Zack had fallen even more ill. He had a high fever and had been suffering from a fever induced hallucinations. Sephiroth went to see him and found Zack in his bed, thrashing and moaning. The physicians in charge of him were clueless as to what could possibly cause this. Sephiroth however had other things in his mind and went off to the Shin-Ra mansion. 

He spent his days at the basement library, poring over every scrap of report done by that insane professor on his mother—if it is his mother—Jenova. He went through files, documents but with every time he knew he was about to find something, pages were torn off. He couldn't even find Professor Gast's notes, which he knew Hojo ripped off the pages. 

The only thing he knew was that the 10,000-year-old corpse they found in the Northern Crater was resumed to be the remains of an Ancient and there was no apparent logic that that creature was no way in any shape or form could be his mother. 

He was flipping through another journal when a breathless soldier came rushing into the library, injured and his uniform torn. Blood was gushing through a slash on his shoulder. 

"General!" 

Everything was soon forgotten, his inner torment and his uncertainty with his identity as his instincts as SOLDIER soon kicked in. 

"What's going on?" he demanded from the soldier, as he staggered to stand smartly before his superior. 

"It's Zack, sir, he's gone insane!" 

"What?! How did this happen?" he roared, in his anger and surprise the books and journals that piled at his side toppled to the dusty floor. 

"It's true, sir. Officer Zack Buster just stepped out of the infirmary and started butchering people. He attacked the other soldiers and then the civilians. We tried to stop him but he was too strong!" 

"Why didn't you call me sooner?" he demanded. 

"But we did! It was just nobody could find you and the others were too busy trying to keep Zack from killing us!" 

Sephiroth cursed. It was his fault, he shouldn't have locked himself like this. Now his men and the townspeople were paying for his carelessness. "Where is Zack now?" 

"The last time we saw him, he was on his way to the Mako reactor." 

Sephiroth wasted no time in leaving the old mansion. He ordered the remaining soldiers to tend to the injured and to save what was left of the burning town. He followed the trail back up to the mountains. It took him no more than a day and a half, climbing it without rest or sleep until he reached the reactor. 

Blood. 

That was the first thing he saw the minute he stepped inside. Blood of the remaining soldiers left to stand guard. He saw their bodies, lying nearly everywhere like discarded dolls, all had the huge tell-tale slash done by Zack's huge sword. 

Sephiroth drew out the Masamune and cautiously looked around. He noticed a trail of blood leading to the monster pods and the room where Jenova was held. He cautiously followed it, quietly treading the narrow catwalk leading to the room. He looked around for any sign of him but found no one. Then suddenly, the doors to the Jenova room slid open and stepped out Zack, holding a decapitated head of Jenova in his hand and his bloody sword in another. 

"Zack." 

Zack flinched, hearing Sephiroth's calm voice as he looked up at his superior officer. His usual happy blue eyes were wild, sweat glistened in his brow as he looked around like a confused little boy. 

"Sephiroth?" he whispered brokenly, almost uncertainly as he blinked back dazed at him the head he was clutching in his hand forgotten. "Oh gods…" he moaned, looking around at the dead men, "What have I done…? The voice, the voices…oh god those voices," he moaned and wept pitifully. 

Sephiroth approached him cautiously but Zack's head suddenly snapped back at him. "Don't come any closer!" he screamed at him, his eyes now wild with rage. "All of you, stay back!" 

"I'm alone, Zack. There's nobody else," he said calmly which seemed to enrage him more. 

"Lie! LIES!" he spat back, spittle flying from his mouth. "Death, death to all of your kind! That is what they wanted so I'll give it to them!" he raved at him. 

_"His mind is gone, taken by Old Ones. You must kill him."_

Sephiroth was startled at the voice that spoke to him in his mind. Who are you? But the voice ignored him. 

_"He will kill you and many more if you let him live. There is no other way,"_ the feminine voice said firmly yet regretfully. 

He must be losing his mind! Sephiroth thought to himself as he tried to assess the situation and a Zack continued to rant and rave. He kept mentioning voices, voices that commanded him to do unspeakable horrors, and Sephiroth then truly realized the voice was right. Zack was no longer himself but still he hesitated. Of all the people he knew, Zack was the only person who he considered remotely as friend, and he hoped that there was a way to help him. 

In his hesitation, Zack seemed to have snapped from his moaning and gazed at Sephiroth with a maliciously look. He threw aside the decapitated head, and raised the huge sword over his head. He then lunged at him, crying out his battle cry. 

Fortunately, Sephiroth was quick and parried his blows. It was quite apparent that Zack's insanity had not hampered his fighting skills in any way. They moved quickly around each other, swords slashing forcefully. Sephiroth grunted at the strength behind the sword. Zack truly deserved his title as second in command, but that was it, second best only to him. 

Sephiroth could not suppress a victorious smirk as Zack lost his sword, but the victory was short lived as he suddenly lunged at him, his claw like hands reaching to strangle him or push him off the catwalk. 

_"Fool! Kill him now!"_

He acted more out of reflex than by the voice's command and he thrust his sword to stab him. The sword went through the young man's body easily but the force of his lunge was too great and Sephiroth lost his footing on the slippery catwalk and plunged to the swirling mako pool beneath him. 

The last thing he saw was Zack's peaceful smile and the blonde man screaming his head off at the top of the catwalk. 

* * *

_"Wake up, its morning."_

Sephiroth groaned under the covers as he slowly tried to sit up. Now he remembered why he disliked camping. Rocks, particularly sharp ones, have a tendency to hide under his sleeping bag. 

He stood up and stretched his tired muscles and proceeded to the usual chores of camp and fixing a quick breakfast. Two hours later, he was packed and resumed his journey back to Midgar.

* * *

Crazy Pen Archives: Where the Pen is crazier than the sword.


	3. Chapter 2: The Meeting

Author's notes: Depicts AeriSeph pairing. If you don't like it, then go away. Reviews are welcome. Flames are not. Flamers will only be pointed and laughed at and ignored.

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7. I don't own Squaresoft. Please your head. All original character belong to me. Take them and die. And yes, I have PMS.

* * *

**Vile Rose  
**Chapter 2: The Meeting  
By Silver Countess 

"Aeris, come on babe, wake up," the gentle voice spoke. She felt a gentle pat against her cheek as the voice called out again. "Aeris, you gotta wake up. Come on, wakey-wakey."

Emerald eyes blinked open sleepily to find a mop of red hair and a pair of cerulean blue eyes looking down at her in concern. 

"Reno…?" she asked groggily. Relief flooded his eyes as he smiled down at her. 

"Finally," he muttered and scooped the protesting young woman up toward the bench where he placed her. Aeris blushed at the way her childhood friend was treating her and began to self-consciously fix her hair. She picked up the dried leaves and sticks from her hair—she knew she looked like a mess. 

"So what happened?" 

Aeris sighed and began to tell him about the voices. She never kept secrets from Reno, despite the fact he was a Turk. Reno on the other hand never betrayed her trust, not even to any of superiors. The two came down a long way, since they were kids in fact, but strangely enough, nothing romantic came between them or anything close she had experienced with her ex-boyfriend, Zack. 

"I see…" Reno said thoughtfully after Aeris explained what had happened. He frowned, disturbed at what Aeris had told him. She suddenly felt very guilty dumping her problems at him. Reno had enough of his mind with his job as a Turk and trying to keep her out of trouble at the same time. Aeris couldn't read the thoughts that seemed to cloud his eyes and immediately began to apologize. 

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have told you—" she began but Reno only grinned. 

"No worries, Aeris. I'm just really glad you trust me enough to tell me," at that he chuckled and began ruffling her hair. 

"Hey, knock it out! I'm not seven anymore," Aeris protested swatting his hands off her hair. 

"Yeah, well I wish you still were, it was easier for me to take care of you," he said a bit ruefully, running a hand through his own messy hair. 

"Are you trying to say that I'm worse off now than before?!" 

"No. What I'm saying is that you've grown up to be too hot to be kept out of my sight for too long without being groped by a guy," he rectified as the young Ancient blushed madly. Reno didn't seem to notice as he continued. "Which reminds me, my shift is going to start in a three hours, so you know the drill, right?" 

Aeris snapped out of her blush and nodded. "I keep out of sight and hide out good and don't come out after six hours." 

"Make it three days," Reno corrected. "Hojo's a bit angry with us for not finding you sooner so he's making us do a thorough search in the area. Actually, I'd feel better if you could leave Midgar for awhile." 

"But I don't know anyone outside Midgar!" Aeris protested, "and there is no way I can stay indoor for that long. I need to work." 

Reno frowned at that. "Look, babe, don't sweat it. I'll take care of anything you and aunt Elmyra would need. The important thing is that you keep out of sight. Let me handle the rest of the details." 

"But you could get caught helping us—" she began but Reno cut her off. 

"No buts. Just keep it low and stay out of the trouble." 

Aeris sighed in defeat and nodded. "Alright. I'll just put some new bedding before I go home and tell mom where I'll be going since it's late. Early tomorrow morning, I'll hide out at the Honey Bee Inn with Maurice. It's the only place I know Shin-Ra isn't going to go look for me." 

At that Reno laughed and gave her a brotherly kiss on her brow before standing up to leave. "Smart. Just promise to keep away from Don Corneo, ok?" 

She nodded. "I promise." 

"Good girl." 

* * *

Aeris was putting the final touches in her garden when a huge explosion from above startled her. She gave a squeal of fright and automatically covered her head. Nothing happened. She waited for a few more minutes when she decided to open her eyes and peeked. 

"What on earth…?" she muttered puzzled as she quickly threw her stuff together to leave the church when the roof above her suddenly gave way and a man, she knew to be man, fell through the roof and landed on her flowers. 

She took a jump back in fright but as the dust began to settle and took notice what had fallen from the roof, she took a tentative step closer and found a spiky blonde haired man moaning on her flowerbed. Aeris knelt beside the unconscious stranger, forgetting for a moment that she had to escape and went to check his pulse. 

"Oh good, he's alive," she breathed a sigh as she felt his pulse point. 

_Kill him._

Her eyes went wide at the sound of the unknown voice. "What?" She waited but there was nothing. Probably the wind, she thought to herself and dug into her basket for a potion and carefully fed it to him. 

The young man groaned as a pair of glowing blue eyes blinked sleepily open. "SOLDIER," Aeris whispered in awe, suddenly struck at the strange resemblance of this spiky blonde stranger to the man she was once gave her heart to. 

"Ugh…Where am I…? And…uh…who are you?" 

Aeris giggled. "First off, you're in the old church in sector five. As for your second question, I'm Aeris Gainsborough." 

"Cloud Strife," the young man introduced himself then noticed the crushed flowers he was sitting on. "Uh…it seems I've destroyed your flowers." 

She waved him off and smiled. "That's ok. Flowers are resilient creatures, they'll grow back pretty soon." 

At that the young man smiled in relief. "Ah…" 

Suddenly the church's doors were brutally kicked open and five figures came in. Four of the men were wearing typical Soldier uniforms, their mako guns aimed at the ready. The fifth one on the other hand wore a blue business suit and a pair of black sunglasses. He was bald, and not the typical red hair Reno has but still Aeris recognized the man. She had seen him before with Reno and Tseng. He was Rude, one of the Turks. 

Aeris' eyes widened in fear and shock. Impossible! She still had at least an hour and a half to hide. 

_Do not fear them._

What…? Aeris thought in wonder. She was beginning to hear things again. The voice was beguiling and sweet, yet there was something sinister in it that made her shiver. 

_Insects. They all are. Make them suffer. You have the ability._

She took a step back, more to the voices in her head than the immediate threat. Cloud noticed her apprehension, and mistook it as fear against the Turk as he too stood up and positioned himself protectively in front of her. 

"Hand the girl over and we wont kill you," the Turk spoke softly, yet his voice had a hint of steel at them. Cloud narrowed his eyes as he whispered at Aeris. 

"Is there a way out of here?" 

Aeris nodded, forcing to ignore the voice in her head. "At the back. There's a ladder leading up to the roof." Cloud nodded. 

"Good. When I give you the signal, I want you to run back there and climb out while I distract them." 

"Okay." 

Cloud carefully slipped out a small smoke grenade from his pocket. "NOW!" he yelled as he suddenly threw the grenade. Aeris didn't hesitate as she ran towards the back of the church, smoke filled the church as the soldiers cursed and stumbled. She looked behind and saw to her relief the glowing mako eyes following her. 

They quickly climbed the ladder and made their way to the roof. Cloud took his sword, which he grabbed at the last minute, to smash the ladder to prevent their pursuers from following. He looked around and then at Aeris. 

She was trembling slightly as Cloud slowly approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder. 

"Come, I'll take you home." 

* * *

Sephiroth stopped when he reached the outskirts of Midgar. He gazed at the huge metal and concrete structure before him, noting the place surrounding it was barren and lacked vegetation a contrast to the lush greens of the fields he had passed through. 

_"Welcome home."_

He shook his head. _"I don't have a home. This place was just one of those places where I had to stay until the next mission brought me someplace else. Nothing here is home and I doubt I'll be able to find it."_

_"You'll never know,"_ the presence in his mind mysteriously replied, as the wind blew gently across the plains. 

Sephiroth was silent for a moment and closed his eyes in slight meditation (the way she taught him how). 

_"From here on, you are on your own. Whatever your decisions you would have will have a profound effect on what is to come. So choose wisely and remember all the things I have taught you."_

_"You're not making this any easier,"_ he muttered as he took another deep breath as the presence in his mind chuckled. She had basically told him that the fate of the world is resting on this mission. _"It makes me wonder why I even bother to wake up after all these years." _

_"Don't talk that way,"_ the voice gently yet firmly admonished him. _"Rest assured I would be watching you. You will not be totally alone."_

At that, he smirked. _"Do I get a reward if I get an A?"_

_"Something like that."_

Sephiroth was surprised at her answer. _"I actually get something after all this?"_

_"Let's just say that Destiny has a way of rewarding those who do what they are supposed to do. Now I must leave you for now. Don't worry overly too much, you'll do quite fine,"_ the voice assured him and then left. 

He was now alone, standing before the metal city pondering. Something inside him told him that something was about to happen in Midgar yet he felt…uncertain. A strange thing coming from the greatest SOLDIER that ever lived. He did not like this feeling; his training in SOLDIER combined with his training in the Life Stream should have dispersed all of his doubts and worries. No use standing there thinking, while precious minutes ticked by.

The wind blew again, disturbing the dust on the barren ground as Sephiroth made his way toward Midgar.

* * *

"Any idea why Shin-Ra's chasing you?" Cloud asked as he held Aeris' hand and assisted her in crossing the rickety rooftops.

_Power._

Aeris blinked at the internal voice and mentally shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe they thought I'm SOLDIER material," she grinned and winked at the surprised blonde.

"You think so? It doesn't seem that way," he said grimly. Aeris fought the urge to roll her eyes heavenward.

"It was a joke," she replied, trying to keep the annoyance from her voice. Honestly, don't this guy have any sense of humor?

"No offense, but I don't think you have what it takes to be SOLDIER," he replied seriously, and then winced at what his remark sounded like. "What I'm trying to say is that there are some characteristics that Shin-Ra needs for SOLDIER that common weak—err oh man…"

Aeris felt a little stung at that remark, she knew she wasn't physically powerful and her self-defense skills were simply put, adequate enough to handle a mugger or at worse the drunken groper at best. The only reason why she was so safe walking the streets was Reno's 'demonstration' to a bunch of would be rapists that had the unfortunate luck to try and grab her. Word had gotten out to the underground about Reno's demonstration and warning, and since then, no one in his right mind and senses had tried to bother her.

The presence in her mind spoke softly, whispering words, fueling the growing animosity of the flower girl's heart.

_Weak. He called you weak. Maybe he's right. So what do you do about it?_

She forced a perky smile on her face, ignoring the voice yet again as she reassured the blundering blonde. "Hey, it's alright," she giggled, genuinely amused at the young man's rather uncomfortable expression. "I know what you mean, so forget it. I don't mind."

_So you say now. But we'll see…soon you'll understand that you're not as weak as they think._

"What did you mean by that?"

"Huh? What is it, Aeris? What's wrong?"

Aeris blinked and then shook her head. "It's nothing."

"Well, we're almost near your place. I'll just drop you off there and I'll head back to Sector 7."

_This is your chance._

"Sector 7? That's a long way from here. Why don't you rest at my place and we can leave tomorrow?"

"You're place?" Cloud looked surprised, "We? Tomorrow?"

"Yes, silly," Aeris giggled. "Don't worry. My mom won't bite you. Think of it as my way of saying thanks."

"I don't think it's a good idea," Cloud said doubtfully. "Sector 7 is rough neighborhood."

_Honey Bee Inn._

"Actually I have some business there, actually on the way there, the Wall Market to be more precise," she said casually, almost too casually for Cloud's liking.

"Wall Market? That's even a rougher neighborhood than Sector 7!" he was surprised and Aeris laughed it off.

"I've been there a couple of times. My friend works at the Honey Bee Inn, and I promised her that I'd visit her tomorrow," she said, though a bit guilty at the half-lie. "See? I'm not that helpless if I can survive going through Wall Market unscathed."

"Alright," Cloud allowed. "I'll stay with you, but only to make sure that nothing happens to you on your way there."

"Alright, alright, you can be my new bodyguard," she replied. Sheesh. What is wrong with this guy? He barely knew her for less than an hour and already he acts like Reno. Unknown to her, Cloud is thinking of the same thing as well…

* * *

Sephiroth trudged through the dark filthy streets of the lower plate. He pulled his hood down that covered his hair and eyes. He knew that many still could recognize his face, especially in Midgar. Wishing to remain anonymous, he had brought along a hood to hide his features. He wanted no trouble from anyone, especially from Shin-Ra.

For a moment, he wondered why on earth he was scouring the Midgar slum. Then remembered the mission: to find the Other. Whoever this person was, he knew to be powerful, powerful enough to plunge the Planet into chaos or worse its destruction.

_Damn, those twin destinies_, Sephiroth thought to himself. If only there was a clue in finding this person. From what the presence told him, he should be looking for a person who came from a dying race, the Ancients or Cetra. From what he could remember, Shin-Ra had been searching for any survivors of this race as well, notably, in Midgar.

So deep was he into his own thoughts that he failed to notice the couple that brushed past him.

"Are you sure your mom won't mind, Aeris?" the blonde man asks his companion.

The young woman laughed. "Of course! She won't mind, knowing that you're the one who saved me from them. You at least deserve _something_ for that."

Something about the woman's voice and the name caused Sephiroth to turn around, but the couple had just turned around the corner and disappeared from his line of view. The last thing he saw was a flash of pink and brown.

_Probably nothing_, he thought to himself, but he couldn't feel so sure. No matter now. They were gone and who knew where they went. The only thing logical for him to do was go to the Shin-Ra building and look up for that information himself.

* * *

Aeris gripped the material of her long skirt with uneasy fingers and wondered briefly for the umpteenth time how she got into this situation. After reaching home, her mother reacted exactly as Aeris thought she would and Cloud got to spend the night with them. The next day her 'bodyguard' was escorting her through the Wall Market when they found out that one of the members of Avalanche had decided to go undercover at Don Corneo's mansion. What happened next was a shopping trip round the market and her bodyguard transformed into a cross-dresser named 'Ms. Cloud.'

And now she was seated on the edge of the bed, in Don Corneo's _room_ no less, the very same man Reno didn't want her to be with, had decided that he wanted to spend more time with her than the other two choices. Not that she blamed him…Cloud's nice in a dress but not _that_ nice and the other choice, Cloud's 'friend' but she doubted if they were just 'friends', though very beautiful, she looked more or less like the average harlot on the street in the tight dress and make-up.

Oh damn…if Reno ever saw her, she knew she'd be deader than dead, she groaned inwardly at the thought. What a mess she got herself into. But she smiled inwardly at the thought, still it was kind of fun. Sort of like an adventure.

The door creaked open and in stepped or rather skipped in a rather fat middle-aged man. He had a swarthy skin and a horrible moustache over grinning yellow teeth. His pig like eyes looked lecherous at her as she edged away in disgust from the horrible man.

"Oh my, my! What a fine pretty thing you are," Corneo crooned in delight as he walked around to examine her. "Such fine features and your eyes so full of innocence. I can bet you've never bedded a man before," he leered.

Aeris cringed as she edged away from him further. Fear and disgust were beginning to form into her mind as she tried to imagine what this man was going to do to her. She silently prayed that Cloud would come quickly and save her.

_He won't come for you and even if he did it would be too little too late. He's too busy saving the other girl to be a bother to you._

Aeris didn't want to believe the voice, but as Don Corneo stepped even closer she was beginning to think otherwise. He placed his cold slimy hand on her shoulder and immediately shrugged it away like it was some poisoned snake.

"Now, now dearie, don't be shy," he snarled as he suddenly grabbed her shoulders and pushed her down on the bed, his grip surprisingly strong for one so small and ugly. "You don't want to alert my guards don't you? I should remember to reward them for finding you, you are the best so far," he licked his lips in anticipation as he looked her over. "It's just too bad the two suddenly ran off when I gave them away to my boys as a reward for a job well done," he guffawed as Aeris listened her body suddenly going still in shock at what she heard.

Don Corneo continued, "They asked a lot of questions for two bit whores not to mention they fight better too. Could have sworn they were those filthy Avalanche," he grunted and then smiled down at her, "but they're nothing compared like you, my beauty."

She remained still, unbelieving at what the old letch said. But she looked at him carefully and knew he was not lying. Why should he?

"Now that's a good girl…don't move," the man chuckled having understood her stillness as a sign of submission, as he pressed down his knee between her legs to spread them apart. Aeris' emerald eyes widened as fear began to slowly choke her mind into a dark haze.

_"You're 'friends' have deserted you."_

No. That's a lie. Cloud wouldn't…

_"But he did,"_ the voice hissed back at her mind.

He'll come back…he has to…he's my bodyguard for the Planet's sakes! Aeris felt like she was going hysterical, no longer finding it strange that she had assumed a conversation with the strange consciousness that seems to reside in her mind.

_"What type of 'bodyguard' leaves you like this?"_ the voice hissed again, the voice seducing and angry at the same time. "_Do 'friends' leave friends?" _

Aeris was suddenly at a loss at what to reply, and then gasped as she felt the old letch snap the slender straps of her dress and yank it down. She began to struggle helplessly against his slimy embrace, trying to claw his face and eyes but he was just too strong. She tried to knee him in the crotch but he had her legs trapped and she couldn't move.

She sobbed, as tears began to fall from her cheeks as she wished for strength, power to overcome her enemy. She cursed her vulnerability her fragility and hated the feeling of helplessness.

Her struggles caused Corneo to grunt in anger and slapped her hard she began to see stars and her movements ceased. Don Corneo grinned in triumph has he allowed his hands to explore her exposed flesh.

_"You don't have to be helpless."_

I want power.

_"I can give it to you."_

I don't want to get hurt again.

_"No one will ever hurt you anymore,"_ the voice crooned softly, triumphantly, as Aeris' emerald eyes suddenly lost its luster going dull and blank.

I want them ALL to pay…for hurting me…abandoning me.

_"Of course they will. That is why you were born: to destroy the race that has brought nothing but suffering to you, the Planet…to the Cetra."_

Yes…

_"Start with this swine first,"_ the voice instructed.

Time became irrelevant; unnecessary as she slowly opened her eyes and let the voice instruct her on her new found power. The strange magical energy began to gather in her body, swirling around her like a protective light green mist. Don Corneo had stopped spreading his slimy kisses on her bare chest when he saw Aeris turn her head to look at him, those once innocent emerald eyes now a dull shade of green. Instinctively he knew something was wrong, that this was not the same girl he had taken advantage off minutes ago. This person was different. Deadlier.

He yelped when he felt a strong shock of electricity shoot through his arms and rocked through his body, nearly shorting his nervous system and shutting down one or two of his vital organs. The power, he somehow knew, originated from her body.

She narrowed her eyes viciously at him, as he suddenly gave an unconscious step back and slumped helplessly and in pain on the floor. Aeris suddenly stood up, and glared down angrily at the whimpering old man, who would have cried out for his guards if not for the pain that choked him even of his breathing.

"Swine," she hissed softly, in the same tone of voice the consciousness in her mind had used as she took a step forward to the scared man, not noticing the gown that began to slide off her body. "Filth," she said again, as she raised her hand and knelt down closer to his level.

"No, stay away!" the man shrieked in a hoarse voice, as he tried to scamper away, avoiding to look at her eyes. "Demon let me be!"

Aeris' eyes narrowed even more in anger. The nerve of this lowly creature to label her as such, after what he did to her! No, he will not be forgiven. He shall not be spared. He shall be punished.

"You do not deserve to live," she whispered as she suddenly placed her hand on his face and directed the power within her into his system. He tried to scream and push her off, but some strange force kept him there.

She continued to direct her power into him, causing his cells to burst and his organs to internally rupture. He was already writhing in pain and alternated from shrieking in horrible pain and begging for mercy, but Aeris refused to listen, remembering her own ignored pleas, as she intensified the power even more.

Half of Don Corneo's body mass was almost sludge, but Aeris had been very careful in keeping him alive and awake as she continued the torture. Five minutes more and he was silent and only did Aeris stopped.

She stood up to gaze down placidly at him, but deep inside, she felt a great deal of both accomplishment and horror. Never in her twenty-one years had she ever hurt anyone in her life. But the power…oh by the Planet, the power that coursed her veins and made her mind filled with a strange type of euphoria was simply incredible.

Still in shock as she absorbed in the events she did not hear the door open or the whisper of footsteps behind her. All she could remember was the sudden blow behind her head and the pain, as she doubled over. Her visions blurred and soon darkness engulfed her.

* * *

Crazy Pen Archives: Where the Pen is crazier than the sword.


	4. Chapter 3: Rebirth

Vile Rose 

Chapter 3: Rebirth  
Silver Countess

She didn't know how long she remained in the SILENCE. It could have been minutes, hours or even days she floated there; time didn't seem to have any meaning in that warm dark womb. Darkness swirled and danced, as the voices of the Cetra began to continuously sing in her mind, while she floated in this strange emptiness.

_ "Our daughter, she who will deliver us the world…"_

_ "Avenge us, Last One! Avenge our memory!"_

_ "Unworthy creatures that walk the light! They who have stolen everything that is ours! Avenge us!"_

_ "Avenge us!"_

Aeris wanted to cover her ears, but she couldn't move, couldn't do anything but listen.

"You have the power…Only you…" 

Why? Why me?

_ "Because it is written in the Book of Prophecy, thus it is your fate." _One lone voice replied, calm and serene, drowning the voices of anger and vengeance. Aeris recognized this voice. This was the voice that helped her when Don Corneo nearly raped her. 

Her fate? 

_ "You are born only for the purpose of this single task. You who has seen a glimpse of what was before and what will become…"_ images began to fill Aeris' mind, visions of people living in a beautiful city, a great war, people dying, homes burning and finally a star that fell from the sky that left a searing wound on the Planet's surface and destroying the enemies of her people. _"Your task is to finish what your forbearers had begun,"_ the voice continued.

A great deal of dread filled her heart as she realized what the voice meant. "I can't!" she wailed, her heart breaking at the thought of what her task will be. "I can't…it's not right…"

Suddenly the voices of the Ancients filled her ears, despair, pain and untold suffering filled her mind. Anguish and anger so thick she could almost taste it, seemingly overwhelming her senses and making her nauseous.

A wrenching sensation seemed to pull her and she found herself standing in a street in a beautiful city. "Where…?" Aeris looked she suddenly saw an image of a woman, pale and sick, nursing a dying child. Then another image of a sickly young man holding the corpse of his beloved, then a wife holding her husband as he lay in bed coughing blood. The city she could see was infested by the sick and dying, as some sort of plague devastated its inhabitants. The scene shifted and she found herself staring at some sort of temple, several people, who looked like priests of some sort were chanting a spell around a woman kneeling in the center of an elevated altar. The priests began falling to the ground coughing blood and dying, until no one was left standing. The woman looked up, to the sky her eyes filled with pain and her face pale. Her eyes fluttered close and she took a sharp breath, released it and crumpled to the ground.

Another wail, loud and despairing filled her and she suddenly found herself filled with anger at the injustice done to these people.

_ "Do you see now, child, what has become of your people? Will you allow their suffering and their sacrifices to be in vain? You who are born, the last of your kind has been chosen to avenge them, to complete the task they had set out to do. Will you accept?"_

"But what can I do?" Aeris looked at the emptiness. "I have neither the power nor the knowledge for the task you set upon me."

_ "Fear not, for you have the power. As for your instruction, I shall lead you to a special place; there you shall find the Book of Silver. It contains the instructions and the means that you will ever need to accomplish your task .But all of these mean nothing until you accept. Do you, Aeris Gainsborough, take this task set upon you?" _

With cold hearted resolved, Aeris replied. "I accept."

The voices around her quieted and within that darkness there was great rejoicing as the voice within her mind shouted in exaltation.

_ "It is done!"_

* * *

Sephiroth woke up suddenly, his bare chest drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. He was clutching the sheets so hard his knuckles were white. He was shivering, the room was warm and he was sweating but he felt horribly cold.

He dreamt about a beautiful woman with long mahogany hair and eyes as green as emeralds. She was achingly beautiful, but her expression was distressed, in pain and then anger. He watched as those emotions played on her face until he noticed one tear streaked her cheek. Sephiroth ached to brush away it away but he couldn't move to touch her.

But it was not a dream as he had hoped, watching as she floated, seemingly not noticing his presence, her eyes looking right through him when suddenly, darkness began to swirl upward toward her body and slowly consume her. He screamed her name—but could no longer recall her name when he woke—but no words came. He reached out to take her hand but the darkness pushed him away as it began to engulf her until only her face remained untouched.

He watched in surprise and in horror as those magnificent eyes turned dull and a small wicked smile began to form on her lips. Then she turned to meet his gaze, the smile of hers widened, and then whispered something.

"She now belongs to me." 

That was when he woke up, cold and sweating. Something told him that the Other has finally appeared and it has claimed that woman he saw in his nightmare. Because of that he felt a strange kind of rage and sadness. He could not allow the darkness to take her completely!

With that he stood from his bed, and looked at the watch. It was nearly time; he then picked up his clothes and his sword and prepared himself.

* * *

"Aeris…Aeris!" 

Aeris moaned, as she slowly opened her eyes. She found herself gazing at a familiar face of a spiky haired blonde. Rage filled her and she was about to give him the same treatment as Don Corneo had when the voice within her stopped her.

_ "You will not!"_ the voice within her sternly commanded her, her body seemingly frozen in place._ "You need him…and his friends to bring you to the place where the book is hidden."_

_ "What ever for? Can I not do it myself? I have the power. You will help me won't you?"_

_ "Yes, but there is a limit on how much I can help you. It is part of the agreement,"_ the voice replied calmly. _"You will understand…in time, but for now, I shall teach you from time to time the proper use of your powers. But the rest is up to you."_

_ "I…understand,"_ she agreed reluctantly, as she withdrew her power.

_ "Good."_ The voice replied and disappeared.

"Aeris…Wake up…please," Cloud hovered over her, his expression concerned.

Aeris winced, as she tried to sit up, noting absently that she wore a coarse hospital gown that scraped her skin as she moved. "I'm alright, just a head ache…" she winced as she rubbed her temples.

"That's good," Cloud said relieved as she helped her stand. "We have to get out of here," he whispered, looking behind him checking for guards. He pulled a worn coat over her shoulders and gently led her to an entrance where the woman she saw earlier at Don Corneo was standing obviously waiting for them. Aeris noticed, she wasn't wearing the slutty dress and instead wore a short skirt, tight shirt and hiking boots. She was frowning and those chocolate eyes of hers were burning with some emotion she could not recognize. Her steps faltered and Cloud in his concern decided that carrying her would be a lot easier than simply leading her.

Aeris was about to protest at being carried. She did have her pride after all. _"Let them take care of you,"_ the voice within her said. _"It'll make things easier in the long run."_ Aeris didn't bother to argue as she fell into sleepy darkness again.

* * *

Sephiroth cursed as the alarms went off. He was hiding behind a broom closet, ignoring the unpleasant smells as he peeked at the crack of the door watching as Shin-Ra guards and SOLDIERs ran past his closet. A red haired man in a Turks uniform appeared followed by a bald man wearing the same thing.

"This is bad, Reno," the bald man said quietly, as the red head snorted.

"Of course it's bad! The president's been assassinated by Avalanche right under our noses and on the night of his fifty something banquet no less. If that isn't bad I don't know what is," he retorted. The bald man looked at him carefully.

"You're not worried." He said. There wasn't a trace of accusation in his tone.

"No, I'm not," Reno admitted, shrugging. "He's not handling my paycheck, not anymore anyway," then peered at his companion and grinned. "It's _President_ Rufus' now. He's a lot better than his old man in my opinion. Better him than that cantankerous old man Shin-Ra."

"Of course." 

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. So _he's_ in charge now? And it seems his people aren't very sad about it. He'd better pay his respects. He might have a clue on the person he was looking for…He waited for them to leave but the red head spoke again.

"Is _she_ alright?"

"You needn't have to worry."

Reno paused, lighting a cigarette and blowing a smoke ring. "Thanks, Rude. I owe you big time."

The huge bald man shrugged. "Let's just call it even for now. Now let's get going. We don't want to keep President Rufus waiting." The two men left and Sephiroth frowned. For some reason, the last part of the conversation puzzled him. It didn't sound much but something told him it was important somehow.

He stepped out of the closet. He made sure that everything was clear and made his way toward the elevators.

Ping.

Sephiroth immediately ducked and watched as the doors opened. To his surprise instead of guards he saw a strange group of people obviously not from Shin-Ra. Probably Avalanche, he thought, his eyes wandering to the huge bald man with a gun instead of an arm, a pretty girl in a short skirt, a red lion like beast and a familiar looking blonde young man holding someone in his arms.

The young man shifted and the cloak covering his burden fell off. He's eyes widened as he gazed on the countenance of the emerald eyed woman in his dream.

"Cloud, we have to hurry out of this place, the guards have surrounded the ground floor!" the young woman spoke to the spiky haired blonde.

The man nodded, shifting the bundle in his arms. The woman murmured and blinked her eyes open. "Where…?"

"It's ok, Aeris you're safe," Cloud smiled down at her reassuring, not noticing the look of jealousy Tifa sent his way. The woman stirred, frowned as she looked around. 

There was a presence here…strong…powerful. Her senses screamed of danger. "Cloud…" Aeris whispered. "We have to leave. Now."

Cloud was surprised to hear the urgency of her voice. "Aeris? What's wrong?"

Aeris couldn't explain to him why the place was dangerous. She just felt that it was.

_ "Don't tell him…make him."_

Aeris blinked at the voice. _"And how do I do that?"_

_ "Now would be as good a time as any to start, I suppose,"_ the voice replied. _"Now listen carefully and do as I tell you. But you must hurry. The danger is closer than you imagine him to be."_

The impromptu lesson was quick…and rather simple to do. Her Cetra heritage had made her a natural empath. She can easily tell a man's mood, his emotions, and even the thoughts that are currently occupying in his mind. And since she has access to those emotions and thoughts that could mean she can actually manipulate them to suit her purpose.

Her suggestions were rather simple. She simply made Cloud go in the direction she wanted him to go. Simple words such as 'left', 'right' and 'ahead' was easy enough to insert into his consciousness and make him believe that it was the direction _he_ wanted to go.

_ "What of this danger? Would he not be able to follow us as well?" _Aeris asked the voice. 

_ "Yes, that's why it'll be up to you to figure out a way to get him off your tracks."_

Aeris cursed. The voice laughed. _"Do not fear. He won't be able to find us. I sensed several guards on their way. Just tell the Puppet to go where he has to go. We'll deal with him when the time comes."_

* * *

Sephiroth uttered an oath so vile, if the plants behind him had ears and understood him it would have wilted. A group of armed guards had spotted him when he was about to follow them. It would have been an easy fight if not for the fact; the guards had a pair of Hundred-Gunners with them. He negligently wiped his sword on the corpse as he wondered what his next course of action would be. 

The area he knew led to several possible exit points. It'll be difficult to know which way the group had taken. Trying to follow them would be a complete waste of time, considering the chaos that was happening.

There was no other choice than to follow what he had intentionally planned on doing and that was to get information. At least now he had some idea on who she was. He could only hope that the person he was going to get them from will be willing to part with it. Considering that he was supposed to be a _dead_ man.

Sephiroth knew inside and out of Shin-Ra's little building, in particular the secret escape elevator that led to the most important offices, that of the President and the _Vice­_-President. He took out a small plastic key card he had filched earlier and swiped it on the control panel. There was a soft audible 'ping' when the doors slid open. He entered into the rather plush elevator, noting idly the red carpet and the mahogany paneling as he pressed the button that lead to the Vice-President's office. 

The elevator door to the Vice-President's office opened and looked around carefully, as he quickly hid behind the foliage as he quickly shut the elevator closed, watching as the mahogany paneled doors slid shut, blending in with the surrounding walls.

He looked around. Unlike the president's office, this one was only half as large so it didn't take very long until he saw the person he came here to see.

Rufus Shin-Ra, the only son of the now late President Shin-Ra was at his desk, talking to someone on the phone. He had some papers lying around and he was busy signing some documents as he finally ended the call. He didn't seem to notice that anything was amiss…until he paused in his paperwork as if sensing another's presence besides his own, he looked up and around as he slowly reached for his shot gun that lay conveniently at the side of his desk.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Sephiroth warned the young man as he stepped out of his hiding place.

Ice blue eyes widened slightly to meet Sephiroth's stern gaze. He didn't look frightened, surprised and a bit wary but far from frightened. The hand paused from reaching for the gun and then dropped slowly. "Sephiroth," was Rufus' cool greeting. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"It's nice to see you too."

There was a soft snort and a shuffle of papers.

"You don't look too surprised," Sephiroth commented as he watched Rufus resume his paperwork, acting as if it was natural for him to be there.

"I had time to recover," was Rufus' reply, not bothering to look up as he opened a drawer and took out some folders, completely missing Sephiroth's turn to look surprised. "You've probably forgotten but I did have cameras installed around the area," he briefly looked up and motioned to the small security monitor in his desk. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't know you were coming?" he sounded amused as he finished signing a few documents. "Dark Nation would have pounced on you the minute you stepped out of the elevator. And I would mind it horribly if you killed my cat so I sent him outside."

"Your body guard cat you mean. I haven't forgotten your tendency for paranoia."

"It's called being 'cautious,'" Rufus absently corrected him as he neatly piled the folders, stood up and waved at the seats. "Please do take a seat while I get something to drink. Anything you'd like?" he asked him as he went to the mini bar. "I have champagne, cognac, brandy, name your poison." Sephiroth held up his hand to decline as he sat down on a plush leather chair. Rufus shrugged as he deftly began to mix and prepare his drink.

He was in the middle of pouring his drink into a glass when there was a ring and a female voice spoke through the speaker phone.

"Sir, you have a call from Tseng."

"Put him through."

There was a pause and a click and Tseng's familiar voice spoke through the line. "Sir, how long do we keep the professor and the rest of the Shin-Ra VIPs in the security hold?"

"As long as it is necessary, I want this building is secure and that Avalanche is no longer within Shin-Ra premises."

"Our reports say that Avalanche has already left the building, sir."

"Verify those reports. I want you to be doubly sure that this building is free from any more terrorists," came Rufus' cool reply. "I'll give you two more hours."

There was a pause on Tseng's end and there some soft muffled snickering at the back ground when Tseng replied. "Yes, sir. We'll do what ever needs to be done and I'll inform of your decision to ask that the professor and the head of weapons department and the rest to remain in the detainment area."

Sephiroth's eyebrow went up just as Tseng went offline. "You've locked Hojo, Scarlet and Heidagger in the same room? For two more hours?" his voice sounded amused and slightly shocked. He knew for a fact, those three did not get along and that their hate for each other was so intense it was almost holy.

"And why not?" Rufus replied. "It is for their own safety…" then he smirked. "And for my own amusement."

"They won't be happy."

"Like I give a damn," was the reply as he pressed a button on the speaker phone.

"Yes, Mr. Vice-President?"

"Shelly, have my suit ready for tomorrow. Not to mention my farewell speech and my announcement. Call Junon and tell them that I'll be arriving for the inauguration in five…no make that four days from now."

Sephiroth was idly looking over the pile of folders while Rufus continued to give instructions. His face remained stoic but his eyes did not hide his surprise as he read the labels on the folders that Rufus was handling earlier.

Beatification Project of Midgar.

Solar, Wind, and Natural gas as Alternative Energy Resources.

Joint venture on Weapons and Medical Research with Orion Corporation.

Sephiroth was suffice to say was intrigued with all these. He did not expect Rufus to be involved with these types of projects. He had assumed the young man would be like his father. In a way, he was glad he wasn't and that made him feel proud of the young man. But something was bothering him though. Most if not all of the folders did not just have the seal of Shin-Ra but also of this mysterious corporation named Orion. 

"So what brings you to my office?" he finally asked Sephiroth as he sat on his seat, taking a sip of his drink. "I don't think you're here to give me your condolences on my father's…untimely demise or express your concern on how I treat my employees."

Sephiroth gave a slight nod. "I need information."

Rufus raised an eyebrow at that. "Really now. What type of information?" he asked as he brought the glass to his lips.

"Avalanche and all the records on the last Cetra."

The glass paused midway as Rufus looked at Sephiroth, a slight frown marring his handsome features. "I'm not even going to wonder why you need that particular information or why you're even alive for that matter," he placed the glass on his desk and opened a drawer. He began flipping inside its contents and pulled out a folder. "Everything you need to know about Avalanche is in there. As for the Cetra, I don't think I can give you that information."

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed dangerously. Rufus chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, old friend, but you'll have to understand, what you're asking is already dabbling in on my business."

"This is not a request," was Sephiroth's quiet reply his green eyes bored on the unfazed young man in front of him. There were very few people in this world that could ever stand up against him and not be afraid. Rufus Shin-Ra was one of them.

"Oh? And what are you going to do if I don't cooperate, kill me?," Rufus replied, an amused smile on his lips as leaned back on his chair, the slight strains of Mozart could be heard in the background. "Just remember that if you do, you're killing your most valuable tie to Shin-Ra. If I go, neither Hojo, Scarlet or Heidagger will help you in your search and in fact even impede you. Not to mention that Hojo would be very pleased if he knew you were around…" he smirked as he glanced at the security monitor. "I could remember very vaguely how pissed off he was when he found out you were dead."

Sephiroth had to suppress a growl. He was right. He couldn't kill Rufus, not that he would in any rate. Shin-Ra would be after him soon enough and Rufus was the only person with enough power to keep Hojo and the rest in check. He simply wanted to scare the young man into cooperating. But now the tables are turned against him.

"Now I'm not an unreasonable man," Rufus began as he leaned on the table, "and I'm more than willing to help you, if you're willing to do me a favor."

"What do you want?"

"The same thing you want," he replied, smiling as Sephiroth looked at him suspiciously. "All pertinent information on the last Cetra and the Cetra race is kept by only two men. Professor Gast and Professor Hojo." Rufus took another folder, a very thin one and showed it to Sephiroth. "What's in there is the information Hojo has been feeding us about Ms. Gainsborough. There's nothing in there that's even remotely important or even accurate." 

Sephiroth flipped through the pages, and one piece of information he found interesting was that Professor Gast was Aeris' father. He frowned…he couldn't remember the professor being married, much less having a child.

"As you know my father had given Hojo free reign on his project, and he didn't care much about information, only the results that would follow. If you want actual information you'll have to steal through Hojo's files. Now as President, I can get to that information but it'll take weeks or even months, and I don't have that much time and I think neither do you."

Sephiroth could see where this was going to. He knew that as of right now, most of the technology that Shin-Ra had leaned heavily on Hojo and Scarlet and though Rufus already expressed his dislike for either of them, he can't get rid of them. Yet. "So you want me to get you that information, am I correct?"

Rufus smirked. "Partially. But after you're done I want you to destroy every single information, project Hojo has, including the information held by the weapon's department," he was grinning now savoring the slightly shocked expression on Sephiroth's face as he reached over and gave Sephiroth another key card and two small disk like device. "You could download everything you need in the main database in Junon. I know for a fact that Hojo kept none of his important files here in Midgar."

"You're destroying your own company, you do realize that," Sephiroth picked up the objects.

"Not really. I already have the information I need from them. The only thing missing is that of the Cetra. I just really want to inconvenience Scarlet and Hojo…enough to give me sufficient reason to get rid of them."

"Who do I give the copy of the information?"

"Someone will contact you. Don't worry you'll know."

Then Sephiroth understood…The president's death, the supposed 'stolen' information, those projects, those links to Orion Corporation…it was all a huge set up to make everything look coincidental and innocuous enough that none of it would be linked back to him. Rufus _was_ destroying the old Shin-Ra Corporation and replacing it with something else…but he was doing it in such a way that the process would seem natural considering that Shin-Ra had no reason to change. 

Slick. Slick sonofabitch.

"You're as oily as I remember you to be." Sephiroth chuckled as he pocketed the items. Rufus only smiled in reply. Was it his imagination or did the shadows behind Rufus twitched? He gave a slight frown as he stood up. "You've changed a lot. This is hardly what I expect from you."

"Many things can change a man, Sephiroth."

"Including love?" Sephiroth smirked at him. Rufus simply smiled at him.

"Yes, including that."

Interesting. Then his eyes fell on Rufus' ungloved hands and noticed a gold band on his ring finger. "She must be some woman then."

"You assume too much," Rufus looked at him, but he didn't look anyway offended. Just amused. "Lets just say I finally found someone who I can truly say is worthy enough to be my equal. Don't worry. You'll find your own soon enough," he grinned as Sephiroth snorted. "And I guarantee you that she'd be the last person in the world you would expect to stand beside you."

"I'll remember that."

"I doubt it. Now get going, I'm a little busy right now."

"Of course. It has been a pleasure meeting you again," he smirked as he turned around and began to walk back to the elevator. Then he paused as he turned to look at Rufus. "Oh…and next time, please do introduce me to your wife. Considering the fact she's been just standing there listening to the both of us." He smirked at Rufus' stunned expression, laughing as he stepped into the elevator.

* * *

Rufus sat there, watching at the spot where Sephiroth was once was. The shadows behind him began to shift as a soft delicate hand settled itself on Rufus' shoulder.

"Should I…?" a woman's voice spoke softly, meaningfully as she finally stepped out of the shadows. Ebony hair flowed down her waist, accented by a snowy tress that danced on her cheek, as violet eyes looked down at the hand the suddenly held hers, watching as Rufus brought her hand to his lips

"No. You don't have to."

"But he knows too much," the woman sounded slightly worried.

"He won't do anything, trust me," Rufus murmured as he kissed the delicate flesh on her wrist, then to her palm, then on the gold band on her ring finger.

Violet eyes softened considerably. "You're very sure about this?" she asked softly.

"He hates this company as much as I do…besides we're not his immediate concerns," he replied murmuring as he kissed her palm again.

She gave a small smile. "I should really get going now, Rufus, Junon is a long way from here," she tried to pull away but Rufus held it tight. 

"You have time," he whispered as he suddenly forced her into his lap and kissed her roughly, thoroughly. After a minute he disengaged himself from her kiss but not from her arms as he reached for the phone.

"Shelly, I'm going to be very busy and I don't want _anyone_ and I mean ANYONE bothering me for the next few hours," he didn't wait for her to respond as he disconnected the call.

"Busy?" the woman sounded slightly amused.

"Yes, busy," Rufus growled softly, capturing her lips in another kiss. "Busy with you."

* * *

A Blue Summer~ 

;


	5. Chapter 4: Seeds of Deceit

**Author's notes**: I'm sorry if I haven't updated in the longest time. Real life has a way of making things difficult. I'll be continuing my fanfic, since right now I'm stranded in Singapore taking care of my mom for six months. Hoping for more updates soon. Sorry to make you guys wait for three years. I'll try to update once a week time willing. ;

I've been getting questions regarding Rufus' fiancée, I won't delve on their relationship in this fanfic since that belongs to an entirely different fanfic all-together. ;;;

The fanfic depicts AeriSeph pairing. If you don't like it, then go away. Reviews are welcome. Flames are not. Flamers will only be pointed, laughed at and ignored.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own FF7. I don't own Squaresoft. Please use your head. All original character belongs to me. Take them and die.

**Vile Rose  
**Chapter 4: Seeds of Deceit  
By Silver Countess

* * *

Everything always began in a dream.

Aeris floated in that now familiar darkness, as the voices of the Old Ones reverberated in her ears. In them she could hear their stories of sadness, loss, pain and that insatiable thirst for revenge. But none of them mattered, except for that one voice that murmured instruction, gave her direction. It could have been days, weeks or even years she spent in that womb of perpetual darkness, she could not tell, only that she had to learn and take in all the information the voice was feeding her.

And by the gods! So much information...with so much possibilities and she began to understood why the humans feared them. How the humans in envy did all that they could to destroy their race. She burned with anger at that thought. _Wretched creatures! How dare they!_ Her mind was so filled with anger, fueled by the Ancient's wailing of injustice.

But just then the image of her foster mother appeared in her thoughts. She was smiling, the same smile she gave her every time she would come home crying or when she felt alone. She remembered her smile, the warmth of her arms that held her at night. She recalled how her foster mother would sing her to sleep and drive away the monsters that lurked under her bed.

_Mother...?_

Another face, this time that of a man with shocking red hair and a smiling blue eyes, he was laughing and he was ruffling her hair just as he carried her around. She could see the man's brotherly love for her in his eyes.

_Reno..?_

Finally she saw the face of another man. Long spiky black hair and laughing blue eyes. Strong arms held her and she could remember laughing with him, her heart light and filled with so much love. She remembered flowers and promises, soft kisses and dreams.

_Zack...My...Zack..?_

At that her heart softened, and the anger that was building within her dissipated. But the voices of the old refused to be silenced and from within, Aeris felt pain lance through her very being. The voices swore, and flooded her mind with the images of her dying race. She felt every grief, every pain they experienced. It was horrible...it left her empty, all the love she had was slowly fading away, replaced only by an indescribable rage.

She swore to the heavens, that the humans would pay, and pay dearly.

* * *

The sentient voice that watched over Aeris smiled. Everything was going according to plan. It had been sheer luck that she would encounter a Cetra, well a half-Cetra that learned compassion and all that nonsense to be precise...It would have been better if she found a more bitter and cruel person, but beggars can't be choosers as the humans would say. Besides the child has more than enough anger and resentment for the humans in her memories for her to use. It shouldn't be much of a problem. She had a plan to fix that little oversight, and that spiky haired blonde will be the perfect tool.

What she found troublesome however, was this appearance of the other side of Prophecy...the One-Winged Angel.

She remembered the power that flowed in that one. His presence made her shiver. She can not act...not right now, when she wasn't in full power and in full control and when that happens, her Dark Messiah will come. But for now, hiding her from the One-Winged Angel is her first course of action, until she could help the Cetra become the Dark Messiah. And when that happens...she'll win.

* * *

Sephiroth was riding a jeep, courtesy of a certain young President, poring over the folder that Rufus had given him. This was the most recent report that Hojo had when she was still in his custody. The folder held very little detail of the young Cetra, except that she had a great deal of untapped potential as proven to the unusual surge of power the young woman emitted. Sephiroth frowned, as he took note of the date and time it occurred, coincided with the strange nightmare he had of the young woman.

He felt a bitter after taste in his mouth at the mention of Professor Hojo and tried to push him out of his mind by studying the pieces of paper in his hand. Luckily, this one contained more pertinent information since it was so recent, and the attack on the base had left Hojo with little time to hide or change the data.

"So where do ya want off?" drawled a familiar voice from the driver's seat. Sephiroth turned to look at the red headed man in a rumpled blue suit. Two other passengers looked at him expectantly from the rear, the intense looking Wutanese man and the blonde young woman. They both wore identical suits as the driver; only theirs was a lot neater and a lot less wrinkled.

"Well?" Reno drawled as he gave a sidelong glance at him. Sephiroth noted that he didn't look terribly happy to see him, nor did his manner become even friendlier when he glanced down at the folder he was holding.

The Wutanese man from the back gave him a calculating smile. "You can opt to head for Junon or you could follow the girl. Though I would strongly suggest that you go to Junon. My men and I can handle her."

He noticed Reno's grip on the steering wheel tightened and the lips tightened in a thin smile, as the driver looked on the road ahead in obvious displeasure. Sephiroth didn't exactly like the way he spoke either. Tseng on the other hand didn't seem to care at all; even if he did, his kept it hidden behind his emotionless mask. "Don't worry, the president gave strict orders that we aren't supposed to harm her. Just follow her...for your benefit of course."

The jeep suddenly jerked around in a sharp turn before turning back to the main road. The people within who weren't buckled down—that meant everyone but the driver—were nearly thrown off the side.

"Ow! Watch were you're going, Reno," the blonde complained in a shrill, whiny voice as she nursed the beginnings of a bump on her forehead. The red haired man only shrugged as Tseng gave him a disapproving look, a frown creasing his usual emotionless features.

"Sorry, there was a stupid wild chocobo blocking the road," he drawled out, his answering grin told them exactly just how sorry he was about it. "Didn't want to mess the new jeep with chocobo road kill."

Sephiroth refused to comment, considering that he did not notice any chocobo blocking their way, but instead sat down and buckled himself in securely. "Right," then returned his attention back to Tseng. "You said you could track her down."

"Yes, in fact I can give you a brief demonstration..." Tseng turned to his companion. "Elena, can you tell me where she is now?" There was a rustle of something and an audible click and a soft beeping sound.

"North of here...they're in Kalm, sir, estimation is that they're heading north...Chocobo Farm will be most likely their next destination," the blonde woman replied, holding what looked to be a small hand-held device.

Tseng gave him an oily smile. "One of Hojo's little contraptions. It's quite useful especially if you don't want good lab specimen to escape too far. The professor had something slipped on the Cetra when she was caught. Nothing she could detect...even if she did, which is unlikely, I doubt if she can get it out unless she an intention of going around without a left arm."

Implants. Sephiroth didn't like the idea of the actual use of implanting anything mechanical inside a living being but right now, he was thankful that he found a way to track her. She was Cetra...the Cetra he was set out to find. And the implant she was carrying was going to make life much easier for him. He was tempted to steal the machine that Elena was using to track down the mysterious woman, which of course was out of the question. One, that would mean a confrontation with her and he was unaware of what she could do in case she decided to go on an offensive.

There was also the timing. Prophecy has a way of making him do things, and one of them told him that _now_ is NOT the right time to confront her, as much as he didn't want to he knew better than to disobey orders, especially those given by the _highest_ authority.

"Junon," he finally gave his reply.

* * *

Aeris fingered the outfit she now wore, something that looked a lot more pleasing than the dress she wore before. A pair of short yet sensible jean skirt and a matching pale pink tank top, a red jacket and a pair of sensible boots. It was so unlike the dress she used to wear. She twirled about, showing off the dress as she giggled and smiled at her blonde benefactor.

"Are you sure these are for me?" she looked at Cloud, her emerald eyes wide as she gave him a cute smile, which she also knew was irritating the dark haired woman.

"They look good on you so you get to keep it," Cloud replied, a little gruff but sincere. His blue eyes looked at her with some admiration and even Barret wasn't unaffected.

"Ya look much better now than before you were in Hojo's clutches," he commented and even Red XIII nodded, rubbing his head against her leg. She smiled gratefully as she absently scratched him behind the ear. Only Tifa didn't reply and Aeris didn't mind really.

"Thank you so much, Cloud...everyone..." she looked at everyone gratefully or what would pass as gratitude.

_You're doing well, Aeris...the glamour you used on them is working...like a charm..._the voice in her head crooned softly. It was the same voice, seductive and sultry that made her want to follow it without question. It was slightly frightening...

"Well now, let's get down to business," Barret grumbled as he sat down on a chair, "Now we're outta Midgard. Why don't we all talk and see what we can do now."

There was a brief silence, when Cloud sighed. "I guess I should start from the beginning. It happened five years ago, I was a SOLDIER back then, and we were sent to Nibelheim..."

The others listened intently and for some reason Aeris began to remember something. _Five years ago...Nibelheim...? Was this the Nibelheim incident..?_

"We went to Nibelheim to investigate on the reports about the faulty reactor...our commanding officers: Zack Buster and General Sephiroth were leading that mission when the massacre happened. I was in patrol out of town when we heard that both Sephiroth and Zack had been acting strangely. Next thing we knew, Zack had gone on a rampage and started killing everyone left and right, I heard that Sephiroth had been partly responsible by allowing it to happen... "

_Zack...? My Zack..?_ Aeris remembered the young man she first lost her heart to. _No...that's a lie! Zack would NEVER do that! _"That can't be true!" She suddenly blurted out, surprising the rest, "I...I know Zack...He would never hurt anyone...Someone made him do that...And why weren't we told of this? Shin-Ra said that he died when the Mako reactor exploded..."

Cloud looked at her, a little bit surprised and a little regretful. Barret himself slightly winced when he heard her. But it was Tifa who answered, and she was strangely sympathetic when she spoke. "Shin-Ra has a nasty habit of covering up the truth. So it's not surprising that they didn't tell everyone what really happened."

"Well, they were never clear as to what really happened that day," Cloud shrugged. "Only thing I can remember was that both Zack and Sephiroth were acting strangely...Zack was sick when he arrived and Sephiroth shut himself up in a hole somewhere until Zack began butchering everyone."

"Sephiroth...?" Aeris frowned slightly. The presence of her mind would have smiled if it could when she saw this opportunity. "Didn't he also die in that incident? The official reports said that he had died while protecting the town."

"Well yeah...sort of," Cloud replied. "He was the one who killed Zack, ran his sword through him while Zack pushed him over the ledge. They both fell to the Mako stream. That's why there was no body recovered. For those remaining SOLDIERs, Shin-Ra had no intention of any of this information leaked out, so we were given to Hojo for experimentation. The town was rebuilt from the ground up, and the people in it are no more than Shin-Ra employees, pretending that the incident never happened."

There was a bit of silence at that. This was obviously news for everyone. Aeris was sitting there digesting the information when the Presence within her took this moment to speak.

"_The man...the one he calls Sephiroth...He's alive._ _He's the one that I sensed in the Shin-Ra building...and he's after you."_

Aeris was confused and she tensed upon hearing the name of the man who killed her lover. "_Sephiroth? Why him of all people? And why would he be after me?"_

"_I take it that he was a powerful man during his time, was he not? Cloud's memories indicate that he was a great warrior, unparallel to anyone. He would be the perfect candidate for our enemies to set against you. But fear not...I won't let him hurt you."_

"_But why didn't you tell this earlier?"_

"_I didn't want to distress you even further given the state you were in when you were captured...Had I known that this was the same man that killed your love, I would have told you sooner," _the voice replied, sounding concerned. "_But the fact is, this man is alive and your new friend seems to know him...We might have an advantage here."_

"_It's a lie...what Cloud said about Zack, right? He couldn't...he wouldn't have done that."_

The presence would have laughed in glee when she heard her uncertainty. Oh this was _TOO_ easy! "_No, no...from your memories of him, your Zack wouldn't have done that...No...most likely, Sephiroth did something to him...maybe, who knows...but it is too coincidental that your boyfriend would be murdered by the same man who now hunts you..."_

Aeris was silent as the presence finally retreated leaving her to dwell on her thoughts. So deep in her thoughts that she didn't see that Tifa was waving her hand in front of her face to get her attention.

"Helloooo! Planet to Aeris! Is anybody home?" Tifa sounded irritated at her spacing out.

"Oh...what...I'm sorry..." Aeris blushed as she looked down on her hands as she tried to make up an excuse. "I didn't mean to drift away like that...The Planet sometimes calls...on inappropriate moments."

"I've heard from my grandfather, that the Cetra have the ability to commune with the Planet...and sometimes the spirits of the lost Ancients," the soft rumbling voice of Red XIII spoke up.

"Well now what?" Barret repeated. "Ain't like we're going anywhere with your flashbacks, spiky. Now that President Shin-Ra's deader than a friggin' doornail, where to now?"

"Even with the President dead, there's still the matter with his son taking the reigns," Tifa spoke up. "We're not really sure what his intentions really are or what he plans to do, only that it was his help that we got in this far."

"So you're saying that Rufus could be or could not be on our side," the black man grumbled.

"Shin-Ra is still a problem but dealing with them right now isn't going to be our priority," Tifa added.

Cloud nodded. "Well, we did finish our mission here...and more," he turns to look at the lion-like beast they were able to rescue. "Bugenhagen, would probably be happy that we finally got you out, Nanaki."

The beast gave him a toothy grin, his remaining good eye flashed with a hint of feral mischief. "He would. Though I am quite certain that I would be getting quite an earful for my carelessness. It had been my fault for being captured in the first place. What of you, Barret, Aeris? Will you be joining us back to Cosmo Canyon?"

"Ain't nothing in Midgar now to keep me there," Barret didn't look too happy at that. "Not with Vicks, Wedge and Jessie all gone. At least I know Marlene will be ok with Elmyra. I'll join Spiky here and Tifa and see where it goes. Staying in the city won't be good for Marlene."

Aeris fidgeted. "I...want to find out what makes me so different...and why Shin-Ra would be after me. I need to know what I am...and what I can do. It's hard...especially when you can hear the cries of the Planet..." she looked at Cloud. "I've been hearing it for so long, but now I feel that it needs _my_ help now...but I can't do it alone..."

Cloud gave her a warm smile. "You won't be alone, Aeris. We'll be here with you. Besides, Shin-Ra might still have some interest with you, considering Hojo is still out there." Aeris smiled at that, ignoring Tifa's slightly irritated look.

"Yes, I believe grandfather would have something that could help you as well," Red XIII added. "He has some books and other things related to the Cetra. He might be of some help to you."

"That's settled then," Barret yawned. "We'll be together until something else comes up." He yawned. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to crash. See you tomorrow."

* * *

It was already nightfall, and Sephiroth was beginning to nod off when he felt the jeep stop. "We're here, folks. Welcome to Junon," yawned Reno's voice at the driver's seat.

Sephiroth unbuckled his seat belt as he hopped out of the jeep to stretch his cramped legs. Reno followed him, stretching and yawning. "That's a peaceful trip," he absently commented, looking at the empty passenger seats.

He paid it no heed. Tseng and Elena had dropped off earlier yesterday to pursue the Ancient and Cloud's party and was rather grateful that he didn't have to spend one more minute with their company.

Reno took out a cigarette stick and a lighter, lit it and began to smoke. "Oh yeah...this is for you," he took something out of his pocket what looked to be a business card. "For your little 'date.'"

Sephiroth took it and examined the card. It looked to be a business card of the Blue Dagger, a popular bar in Junon. He flipped to the back of the card. "10pm, table 12," he read the card, then turned to the Turk. It was a woman's handwriting, definitely not Reno's. "There's no date on the card."

Reno shrugged. "Hell, don't look at me. I was just told to give that to you. She said to meet her after you're finished with your job." His voice was a little edgy, a bit on the gruff and on the unfriendly side.

"Her?" Sephiroth echoed, and Reno just threw his cigarette and stomped on it. He didn't looked inclined to give him any details, and looked more than just itchy to get away from him. "Never mind," he tucked the card into his trench coat pocket.

"Well I'm outta here," Reno waved as he made his way toward the Junon security checkpoint. "I won't bother you with the tour. I'm sure you know your way around..." he yawned again, swiping his key card and disappearing into what looked to be the employee's door, leaving him standing there as the sun finally set.

* * *


	6. Chapter 5: The Magician

**Author's Notes:** Thanks guys for the support! Especially to my old readers that still hanged around to read my work. (Wheee! I love you all!) I've been having problems trying to upload my story and keeping all of my formatting. It's driving me crazy! So if anyone has any ideas on how to fix this, please email me.

As for the reviews...wow. Thanks guys! Never thought my writing would still be ok after three years of not writing anything. If anything your reviews have only encouraged me to write more and try to improve! Oh yeah, I apologized for my last work if it was short, that was rushed.

The usual, the fanfic depicts AeriSeph (though there won't be so much of it right now, maybe after a few more chapters) so please if you don't like it, don't read it. Reviews are welcome, Flames are not.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FF7. I don't own Squaresoft. However, all original characters belong to me. If you take them, I'll take your kidneys as payment.

* * *

**Vile Rose  
**Chapter 5: the Magician  
By Silver Countess

Infiltration hardly seemed to be Sephiroth's expertise. Sneaking around like a common thief was NOT one of the things he was good at. He was a General, not a spy! All these thoughts flipped through his head as he waited under the cover of darkness to get where he had to go to. It was surprising that after all this time, his access codes still worked.

It wasn't long when Sephiroth finally reached the Professor's laboratory. It was dark and strangely unguarded. Well not so strange, since Rufus Shin-Ra's presidential inaugural was going to start tomorrow. Every able SOLDIER, guard or any man in uniform would have to participate in the opening march and parade of his honor, which now meant the Shin-Ra building is going to have a skeleton shift tonight.

Rufus would have wanted it that way...Sephiroth realized as he sat down in front of a computer terminal. He took out the special keycard Rufus had given him and the disc. Upon inserting the keycard, he realized that he had access to a lot of files, some of which he was tempted to read on, remembering what he had gone through under Hojo's tender, loving care.

"_Try not to lose sight on what one's supposed to be doing." _

Sephiroth sighed when he heard that voice. _"I'm not THAT distracted."_

There was an amused chuckle from the presence in his mind and it was gone, leaving him alone again to resume what he was doing. Sephiroth inserted the disk and just downloaded whatever it was inside the computer that was related in anyway to the Cetra and the weapons department. Most of the reports didn't seem to be much, but still made him...uncomfortable just the same.

There was even a plan by Hojo to combine _his_ genes with that of the Cetra. He didn't even want to imagine what that would be like. It was almost half an hour later when he got all the information that he needed, taking out the disk that had the files and sliding in the next one that contained a computer virus.

He uploaded that one in and waited for it download on it's on. Once it was finished, Sephiroth took it out. He looked at the PC and took out his Masamune, just to make sure everything was destroyed as requested...

* * *

Aeris was regretful that they had to leave the chocobos behind. She sighed as she climbed down her mount. She gave one last pat on the chocobo's behind and watched it run through the swamp and back to the Chocobo farm.

"So it's through this cave then Fort Condor before Junon?" Barret said, looking at Cloud.

"Yeah, the trip will take us at least one and a half to two days estimate," Cloud has just released his chocobo when he replied. "We'll be stopping over Fort Condor first then we'll head out to Junon. From there we'll try to catch the next boat ride to Costa del Sol."

"Then it's a long _arduous_ trek to Cosmo Canyon," Tifa was looking at Aeris when she spoke, the barest hint of a smile on her lips. "It will be difficult if you aren't used to roughing it."

Aeris wasn't stupid enough not to catch on to what she meant, and she could feel her temper rise along with her magical power. She was more than a little tempted to wipe her expression off her face.

"_Temper, temper...there will be more opportunities to deal with her later...For now you need to focus," _the voice warned her. _"I feel a source of power near here...you might want to look where it's coming from. It might be of some use to us."_

"_In which direction?"_

"_North from this mountain range..."_

That was something to at least think about. Aeris gave Tifa a smile, which seemed to irritate the brunette even more when she didn't seem to react at her little jibe. Cloud however didn't seem to notice what was going on and instead went and reassured Aeris.

"Don't worry about the trip, Aeris. We'll try to make the trip less stressful for you. We're not really rushing aren't we?" he looked at Red XIII who growled in agreement.

"I'd like to take this time to stretch my legs a bit," the feline agreed, and was about to add something when he began sniffing the air. "Hmm...what's this...something or rather someone besides us is here..." He began to sniff on the ground and toward the entrance of the cave. He suddenly began to growl.

Cloud followed him, motioning the others to keep quiet and stay where they were as he followed Red. "Who is it?" he asked quietly, looking around carefully behind a huge boulder as the beast moved forward and into another area.

"Tseng..." the beast replied. "I can smell him...he's close by." Cloud nodded his hand on the hilt of his sword as he suddenly heard footsteps and voices just ahead. He took a peek behind a boulder and indeed he found the head of the Turks a level below them and holding a strange device in his hand that resembled some sort of transmitter.

"Any sign of her, Elena?"

"No sir," a female voice replied as another Turk emerged from one of the other caves.

"Well keep searching, Hojo isn't very happy that two of his prized specimens have escaped the laboratory," Tseng replied, and looked on the monitor in his hand. "No matter, the transmitter that was implanted on the Ancient is still active...she's just within our area..."

"Yes, sir," the woman obeyed, but before she could do anything there was a loud beep that repeated itself over and over. The woman took out her communicator and answered it. She looked a bit surprised as she turned to Tseng. "Sir, I just received orders from headquarters that we're needed in Junon."

"The president's little inauguration, how can I forget...?" Tseng replied sarcastically as he pocketed the device. "We'll go back for now. We can always follow up on the Ancient later."

Cloud waited as the two Turks left, and didn't move until they were sure they have left the cave. Cloud didn't want to believe what he just heard about the implants, but it would prove to be something that could endanger their group.

"We should tell the others," the beast said, his tail flicking behind him a little warily. The thought of returning to the laboratory did not suit the feline.

"Yes, but I'm rather worried about Aeris and that implant they mentioned. We need to find a way to get rid of it," he replied, concern marring his handsome features as they began to walk their way back to the others.

Red seemed amused at his sudden concern and chuckled. "You seem fond of that girl..." At that Cloud had the decency to turn away, a light red tinge on his cheeks.

"Yeah...well it's hard to explain. I can't help but feel that there's something special about her..."

* * *

Completing the task had proved a lot easier than he would expect, Sephiroth mused as he looked at the card in his hand and at the sign in front of the bar. Blue neon lights flashed the name, "Blue Dagger" and already he noted the place looked packed, mostly by young people, and by people who wished they were young.

The entrance of the bar was guarded by a bouncer, who was big, burly and bald. He wore all back and enough metal piercings to be mistaken for a chain fence. He was denying entrance to two teenagers in punk hairdo and was glowering at them.

Sephiroth paid the two no heed, as he practically brushed them aside, one of them was about to retort until he saw the seven-foot long sword strapped to his back and thought better of it. The bouncer however, wasn't impressed and glowered at him as he held out a hand, "This club is only through by invitation--" he stopped as he noticed the card.

Sephiroth gave it to him, and the bouncer took it, flipped the card and gave it back. He stepped aside to open the door to allow him through. "Step in. She's at the back." The two teenagers protested at how easily Sephiroth got passed the bouncer, but the huge man paid them no heed as he allowed the silver haired general through.

Once inside, he noted that the interior looked much better than the one outside. The music was pretty loud, and he had to fight his way through the mass of bodies gyrating to the music as he approached the bar.

The bartended looked young, and he had been eyeing Sephiroth (not to mention the 7 foot katana strapped to him) a little nervously when he arrived. He has just finished fixing a drink when he saw the silver haired general approach. "Good evening, sir, would you like a drink?"

"I need to go to table 12," he showed him the card. The bartender hesitantly looked it, looked at the card then back at him. He seemed a little surprised and more than a little relieved.

"The table is at the back," he points to the tables at the corner of the room. "She's been waiting for you."

He gave the man his thanks and approached the table, carefully sidestepping a rather drunk couple. Once he got there, he noticed two tables, one surprisingly owned by a very drunk and very unconscious red haired Turk. Four bottles of what looked to be beer and one bottle of vodka where on his table and they were all _empty_. He was also snoring loudly. On the other table was a woman, in a grey trench coat watching over the drunk Turk with a bemused expression. She had long black hair that reached to her waist, accentuated by a snowy tress that danced on her cheek. She was holding a glass of martini, smiling as he approached.

"Sephiroth, please, take a seat," she motions to an empty chair beside her. Sephiroth took it and sat down. "Care to share a drink with me?" she didn't wait for an answer as she called for a waiter who was just hovering behind her. "Two more of this if you please?" Sephiroth noted that she had a very sensual voice, like velvet with just the slightest hint of steel. There was also an air of sophistication around her....and of death. It was...a strangely familiar presence, one that he had felt before.

He propped the Masamune against the table, as he pulled out the two disks and the keycard. "I came to fulfill my end of the bargain," he told her flatly. This caused the woman to smile up to him, long slender gloved fingers reached for them.

"That was a very quick job..." she replied. "I give you and on behalf of Shin-Ra company my thanks." Then she gave a slight frown, tugging at the disks. "Maybe if you could let go now?"

"Not so fast..." Sephiroth gave her a cool smile, putting back the diskettes into his pocket. "Only if you tell me what I need to know, Mrs Shin-Ra." There was a slight pause and a brief rather surprised look. She suddenly gave a soft velvety laughter, amusement twinkling off her violet eyes.

"Ah, you humor me so...but of course, we owe you that much," she gave him another smile, more sincere now than the last one. The waiter finally arrived with their drinks and a bowl of nuts. "Though I am impressed, what gave me away?"

"For one I know Rufus to be the untrusting sort, especially around women. You'd have to be someone very, _very_ close to him, to be allowed to work directly with him," He took the offered glass and took a sip. "Second, I felt your presence the last time. You have an air that is difficult not to notice."

The woman seemed pleased at his answer, and was also quite impressed. "Well now, I guess I should begin by introducing myself," she offered her now gloveless hand. "My name is Sylvia Valentine. I'm not using my husband's name...."

"My pleasure," Sephiroth responded automatically as he shook her hand. Her handshake was firm, and he noted that her hand wasn't as silky soft as that of a pampered woman, and her grip was rather strong. "Isn't Rufus bothered with that?"

"Bothered? The man was positively _livid_ when I first suggested it," she laughed as she pulled her hand away. "It took a little explaining on my end for him to finally agree, but only if I promised never to take this off," she held out the gold band on her finger. "But really, I don't think my marriage is what you came to ask, no?"

"Hardly."

"Then speak up," she replied. "Ask, and I'll try to answer as much I can...or what I am allowed to."

She was honest at that point at least. "I need to know what else you plan to do with Aeris. I know that Rufus has other plans not to exploit the Lifestream, I saw the files on his desks," he was carefully watching her, trying to gauge her reaction. She didn't seem bothered, if she was, she kept her emotions carefully hidden behind that serene disarming smile. "And I doubt he'll be giving her to Hojo for experimentation. I need to know his plans, especially if this will hinder my mission."

She took a long sip, her gaze thoughtful. "Actually I was worried of the same thing...of your intentions and what it would do to _our_ plans," she replied finally. "I'll be frank. We have no intention of harming or endangering the Cetra. However we do need her cooperation. Her people have the technology and magic that would aid us to replace the old Shin-Ra ways. Technology that Orion has unearthed and studied."

"You need her alive," he echoed. "But what are your guarantees that Hojo won't harm her?"

"I can't say the same for Hojo and the rest of the money grubbing leeches, but on our side you can be rest assured that we won't do anything harmful to her." She gave a soft tired sigh as she continued. "Rufus had the right idea not to just trust anyone in Shin-Ra. Everyone there wants something, and if Rufus doesn't give in, he knows that some of these people have the power and the resources to kill him or kill the company. He can't risk that. Right now he's looking for people he can trust, and find a way to quietly dispose of people that aren't."

Things were becoming clearer now, and Sephiroth had to admit that he had underestimated the young president yet again. Rufus needed to find a way to make his people powerless, and to find a way to make his company independent from them. Once their source of power was destroyed, it would be a lot easier for him to simply fire them without fear. Of course all of his grand schemes seemed to hang on the Cetra being alive and cooperative.

Sephiroth placed the diskettes and the keycard on the table. The woman looked at them and took it. He was about to stand when he felt her hand restrain him. He looked down and found her eyes locked against his.

"Now that you know our plans, just let me remind you that whatever your intentions are, I pray they will not interfere with ours," she added quietly. "But if by chance you prove to be more of a hindrance, I will _personally_ find a way to get rid of you."

"You're threatening me?" Sephiroth didn't know if he should be impressed or not at her audacity, but her smile told him without words that she meant every word.

"I know you're a powerful man to be able to rise back from the dead, however..." Sephiroth felt something, some kind of magic, emanating not from her but from something in her person. A weapon perhaps? He wasn't so sure. But the magic he sensed wasn't something he was familiar with. "I have my means to make sure you don't come back. Please don't take this personally, this is business after all."

"_Just nod your head and agree. Now is not the time to 'butt heads'—as you call it—with someone who can deliver their threat."_ Sephiroth recognized the voice, and simply gritted his teeth and nodded.

"I'm so pleased that we understand each other then," she smiled as she slipped something into Sephiroth's hand. "This is a special device developed by our R&D department. We use that to track special ore deposits and Materia but you can also use this to track down Ms. Gainsborough. It's quite independent of the implant so you needn't have to worry."

Sephiroth looked at the device then at the woman who now resumed finishing her drink. Then without another word turned and left the bar.

* * *

Sylvia watched the man leave, her smile widening as she looked at the seemingly unconscious Turk. "Get up, Reno. I know very well you're awake. I hope _that_ little conversationwould help alleviate some of your worries."

The red haired man opened one sleepy eye and stretched. His blue eyes were clear as the sky and without any indication of the usual glazed expression found on drunks. "Heh. Yeah well, you never know with him."

"Well at least we know he isn't actively trying to kill her...so you wouldn't have to worry so much," she replied, as she stood up and smoothed down her coat.

"As much as I really appreciate what you did back there, I think we should get going." Reno replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I don't really want to explain to the Prez why the missus isn't home yet."

"Tsk. You worry too much. The night after all is still quite young and there is still much to be done."

* * *

Aeris feet were killing her by the time the group finally arrived at Fort Condor, they had rushed to get here after discovering the implant on her. She wasn't a slob, but she wasn't physically active either. This kind of hike was horrible. She hated what it would be like when she had to walk to Cosmo Canyon. But all through out the trip, she never did complain, bearing her difficulties with grace and dignity. Especially when Tifa had been acting very solicitous, always asking her if she was tired or if she needed any rest.

Still it _was_ an experience. She was able to use some of her new found abilities without being so obvious. She had learned to enhance material by attuning herself to it, turning her into a powerful spell caster, and a very adept healer.

It also felt nice to know that somehow, even when she wasn't physically strong as the others, she knew what she did mattered, that she was actually an asset to the team and not a hindrance. Something even Tifa grudgingly have to admit that it was nice to have a good healer around in a fight.

But right now she was just glad that the journey was over. She was tired, and a bed right now sounded so good that she almost didn't notice the strange moans from inside. She almost thought she was hearing the voices of the Ancients again, if it wasn't also heard by the rest of the team.

"Seems like some guys got into a big fight, judging from the sounds," Barret commented.

"Well it's already dark to tell for sure, so lets just get inside and see if anybody can tell us what happened," Cloud then began to lead the team inside, and up the rope ladder that was lowered for them to use.

Once inside Aeris immediately saw that this was the source of the moans. The place was littered with the injured. Some of them were in the cots, and the others were in thin mattresses on the floor. There was one wailing woman at a side as she now held the dead body of what was probably her husband. Meanwhile harried looking medics went from one patient to another trying their best to help as many patients as they can, but it wasn't enough.

The symphony sounds of the injured and dying brought a strange reaction to Aeris. A part of her savored it, found pleasure to hear the anguish and the suffering. The more she heard of it, the less angry the voices of the Ancients became. It was as if, the human's suffering was slowly pacifying them, bringing her relief.

But a small part of her, the part that still remembered what it was like to suffer, and knew love in the arms of the people who had cared and raised her, there she found pity and compassion.

"Cloud, why don't you and the rest go and get some rest? I'll see what I can do to help here," Aeris quietly said, her gaze still on the injured.

Cloud looked at her and then nodded. "Alright, but try not to push yourself too hard. We really need to get to Junon and find someone to get rid of your implant," he gently reminded her. "It'll be another day's walk and it's already night time so you best get some rest, soon."

Aeris nodded, approaching one of the injured men lying on the cot. He would be a rather handsome fellow, if his face wasn't contorted in a grimace of pain. But in her eyes, seeing him in such a state made him the most beautiful creature in the world. Already he had bandage wrapped around half his head and the bandage around his arm needed changing.

She reached for him her fingers gently caressed his injured face while her eyes feast at the sight of him as she whispered. "It's alright...everything is going to be just fine..." She murmured words of power, the green healing materia in her wrist glowing as he was suffused with magical energy. She concentrated, the magic slowly mending bone, muscle and flesh.

The young man stared at her, his eyes wide with amazement and fear, realizing suddenly that the pain was slowly going away, being replaced by a sensation that was ...pleasurable. Aeris opened her eyes, her smile gentle as she lovingly unwrapped the bandage around his head and right eye. A shaky hand reached for his face, expecting to find blood or a wound, but not only did his fingers only touched unmarred flesh, he could _see _again. He turned to gaze at Aeris, expression filled with awe...

Aeris smiled.

* * *

He was dreaming.

He saw himself inside the ruins of an old yet beautiful church. Sunlight was streaming in through the remaining glass stained windows, shedding light on the various patches of flowers. The air was warm, like that of a summer's day and a soft breeze seemed to blow from somewhere. The place felt..._holy_, and strangely enough he felt at peace there.

It was then he heard it, the sound of a child crying somewhere in the distance.

Sephiroth followed the source of the disturbance, which led him straight to the altar. Behind it, he saw to his surprise to see a young girl, who looked to be around seven curled up behind it. The little girl heard him approach and briefly stopped crying to look at him.

She was a rather pretty girl. Deep mahogany ringlets framed a rather cherubic face, as wide teary green eyes look up at him. She sniffed, and stared at him but said nothing. She looked familiar though but he couldn't remember where he had seen her before.

"Are you lost little girl?" The girl shook her head but didn't speak. Sephiroth tried again. "What are you doing here?" The little girl stood up, revealing a rather muddy pink dress and scrapped legs.

"I lost it," she sniffed, rubbing her eyes as she looked around the garden. "I lost it here...I can't find it anymore."

"What did you lose?" Sephiroth asked her, trying to be gentle and not to be as intimidating as possible. The girl bit her lip and her eyes watered. Sephiroth was afraid she would start bawling any minute.

"Mommy's treasure," she replied. "I lost it...and I can't find it anymore!" She suddenly went to one of the flower beds and began to search through the soil. Then suddenly the light of the sun was suddenly disappeared, and the air inside the church felt cold...stale. The shadows became longer, darker. As if the shadows were slowly becoming alive.

The girl suddenly stopped digging and looked at the church doors. Her eyes were wide, frightened.

"Are you alright...?" Sephiroth approached her, and turned to look at the direction she was staring at. The double doors of the church were partially closed, one door was still bolted the other one was creaking open by some unknown breeze. The shadows on the door seemed to grow, reaching to the flower bed nearest to it and to his shock watched as the roses slowly began to wilt. Then he saw it, tendrils of shadows peeking through the door as if trying to get inside. His hand went to the hilt of his sword when he realized that he was unarmed.

"Please," the girl suddenly turned to him. "You have to help me. You have to find Mommy's treasure for me. You have to!" she began to beg staring at the door then at him. "Please, find it before _she _does!"

* * *

Aeris woke up just as the sun just rising over the horizon. She felt refreshed, and energized despite the fact she had stayed all night assisting the medics with the injured. She had never felt this _good_ for as long as she could remember.

"Aeris?" Cloud was already awake, looking relieved when he saw her dressed up and ready. "I thought you'd still be asleep. I heard that you were helping out all night."

She giggled. "I was. But I'm ok now. See? I told you I'm not as frail as I look!"

Cloud chuckled. "That's great. The others are just waking up, so they'll be heading downstairs for breakfast in a while."

"Okay, I'll meet you guys down there. Just need to finish packing some of my stuff," Aeris replied. Cloud nodded and went on his way.

She hummed a soft tune as she finished packing, humming still as she stepped out, smiling as she encountered the young man she had helped save last night. He was standing there almost as if he had been waiting her to come out.

"Good morning, Ms. Aeris," the young man, by the name of Brent greeted her. "Lovely day, isn't it?" She saw his smile and his worship filled gaze, and noted with some amusement that all of the people she had helped last night held the same expression as she passed.

"Yes, yes it is," Aeris laughed as she made her way to the galley. Today seemed such a lovely day indeed...

* * *

Wahh, I still have no internet. I am at a café. Very expensive...Oh yeah I need an editor.


	7. Chapter 6: Through the Looking Glass

**Author's Notes: **My brain is turning into gooey melted cheese! Hehehe. I guess this is what I get for writing extremely serious fics. Writing FF7: Lammas Night made my brain melt…well I hope you guys like it.

On another note, I apologize for the delay. I went home a few days ago to visit my family, friends and my loved one for a week, not to mention spent my birthday and Valentine's Day with my Teddybear.

And no, sorry I'm not going to delve much on Sylvia, because her relationship here with everyone is going to be different than to my other fanfics (this applies to everyone else). You can even say that Vile Rose is an AU of SOTL. Don't worry; I'll be dropping off some clues about her in this story. Ohohohoho!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own FF7. I don't own Squaresoft. However, all original characters belong to me. If you take them, I'll take your kidneys as payment.

**Vile Rose**  
Chapter 6: Through the Looking Glass  
by Silver Countess

"This doesn't make sense at all!" Reno threw the report on the table in frustration. He had been sifting through the reports made by the Turks regarding Aeris' capture in Midgar. And frankly the gory details on Don Corneo's death unnerved him.

"What doesn't?" Sylvia's smooth voice replied, not bothering to look up from Prof Hojo's report on her monitor.

"This!" Reno waved the folder marked 'Confidential.' "This absolute crap Tseng wrote about Aeris when she got captured." A few of the pictures dropped and Reno picked it up, looking a little green when he examined them. "What the fuck! This is disgusting! He didn't have to get pictures, and not this many!"

Sylvia turned around to take one of the photos that Reno was complaining about. The picture showed the body of Don Corneo, or rather what's left of him, which was nothing more than pink slop and half of his head. Granted it was disgusting, she'd seen worse. "What's so shocking? After being in Hojo's laboratory and seeing what goes there, I'm surprised you have such a weak stomach."

Reno wasn't listening as he continued to rave. "I bet he jacks off at this too, fucking bastard." Sylvia noticed that Reno tend to swear a lot when under stress, but in this case she understood his distress. He had grown up with Aeris and knew her to be a rather sweet young girl with some special abilities. Seeing her capable of committing cold-blooded murder, well not so cold blooded considering that it was in self-defense. Still the manner how she did it made her wonder.

"…he probably kept the damn video too…" Reno muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets as he fumbled for a cigarette and a lighter

"Video?"

"Huh?" Reno turned a cigarette in his mouth.

"You mentioned a video," Sylvia repeated carefully.

"Yeah," Reno agitatedly lighted the cigarette. "Don Corneo keeps some kind of recording equipment in his bedroom. He likes to watch himself." He made a disgusted snort.

Sylvia looked thoughtful. "Do you think Tseng still has that video?"

"Most likely, he's very thorough when it comes to this sort of thing," he motions to the folder filled with photos and reports.

"So why is it, that Hojo doesn't have a copy?"

At that Reno gave a chuckle. "The only thing me and that dirty old man have in common is a dislike over Hojo. Just the thought of that sick puppy seeing that video and _after_ was enough to turn even Tseng's stomach. 'Sides, all that ruckus over Shin-Ra's demise and Rufus' stomping on territory kept the professor and Tseng busy to remember about it."

It didn't take much of a genius to think about what he meant by 'after'. "I see. I take it that the video is in Tseng's personal database?"

"Yeah," Reno replied as he blew a smoke ring, looking a little less stressed.

Slender fingers flew on the keyboard. "And the password?"

"tse23345"

Sylvia didn't comment on how he knew Tseng's personal password. It didn't take long for her to find the video. She clicked on it and began to watch.

It wasn't a long video, hardly less than hour when it ended and yet even _she_ felt a little sick watching it. The near rape scene ended with Aeris literally turning Don Corneo into nothing but a slopping glop. She was grateful her console didn't have speakers. She didn't need to hear the screaming. Reno wasn't watching, in fact he had turned his back on her and was angrily smoking away.

When the video was over, she looked up to the Turk. "Reno, I want you to find the original video. Once you find it, destroy it. The same goes to any copies you see."

Reno stomped on his cigarette butt on the carpet. "On it," he replied a little gruffly as he left the office.

Sylvia watched him and clicked on the rewind button, and began to replay a particular scene, she did it three times over before picking up the phone and began to dial.

"Orion Corporation, Historical Research Department. How may I help you?" A rather pleasant voice on the other end answered.

"This is Sylvia. Connect me to Prof. Jarek please."

-oOo-

The morning was rather pleasant, as she spent a rather leisurely breakfast with Cloud and the others. Tifa had decided to skip breakfast for some reason or another, which Aeris didn't seem to mind. Cloud didn't either, in fact he was very attentive this morning.

But all good things must come to an end and soon enough they were on their way, this time to Junon. The walk wasn't too bad this time, the monsters weren't as problematic, considering that the area was very near Shin-Ra territory and SOLDIERs patrolled the area frequently.

It wasn't until near sun down when they finally arrived on what looked to be a very smelly fishing village just outside of Junon. The water by the beach didn't look all to clean and there was a rather tall looking electrical fence that protected Junon from the outside world.

"Well, Spike, any ideas how to get in?" Barret muttered as he squinted at the towering walls of steel and concrete. "Not like we have an invitation card handy."

Cloud looked at the direction he was looking at and then at the village. "There's someone in the village that might be able to help us. We once passed here a few months ago when we rescued a little girl who was playing in the beach from a monster. We found out later that her grandfather had relatives inside Junon. He might have an extra pass for us to borrow."

Aeris looked at the garbage-strewn beach, oil and other rubbish floating on the water. How could a child even _think_ of playing in this filth? "A monster?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah. She was out playing with her dolphin when a giant kraken appeared and attacked her. Her dolphin died trying to protect her but she wasn't fast enough to reach the shore. It was only luck that Tifa and I arrived here in time."

A kraken…? She heard a humming noise, not unlike the noise she had heard in Midgar. It was the sound of a Mako Reactor. She looked at the direction of the noise and saw the towers overlooking Junon.

Wasn't there anything mankind couldn't think of doing? They create wars, and set out to abuse and destroy the very land that gave them life and for what? Money? Power? But even then, without Shin-Ra, the humans would still remain so destructive.

Maggots. All of them are.

Nothing more than over-glorified parasites feeding on the Planet.

She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder interrupting her reverie and turned to see Cloud. "Let's go." She nodded and followed him.

Cloud led them to the direction of one houses, this one looked better than the rest as it had plants growing on pots, meticulously cared for. He knocked on the door and a few moments it was opened by a very old man. He looked pleasantly surprised when he saw Cloud and Tifa.

"Oh, it's you!" The old man smiled as he pushed the door wider. "Come in, come in all of you." They all stepped in, Cloud first followed by Aeris, then Tifa and the rest. Barret because of his bulk had to squeeze himself sideways through the door. The old man looked a bit nervous when he saw the red feline beast, but said nothing of it since the huge cat didn't seem to be ferocious. He simply assumed that he was some kind of exotic pet.

"So what brings you back to our humble village?" the old man ushered them to the living room as a little girl who looked no older than twelve bound down from the stairs, laughing as she hugged her grandpa who then picked her up.

"We were wondering if you could help us," Cloud began. "We need to get into Junon. You see one of my friends," he turns to Aeris. "Needs to see a doctor from there, but as you can see, we don't have a pass."

"Ah…" The old man turned to the little girl, a wrinkled hand on her shoulder. "Go upstairs and get the small box in grandpa's table." He put her down, as the little girl, eager to please him nodded and bounded up. She came down a few minutes later carrying an old ratty letterbox. The old man thanked her, patting her head as he opened it, and took out what looked to be a pass of some sort. He gave it to Cloud.

"Here, take it. We owe you that much." Cloud looked about ready to protest when the old man held out his hand. "Now, now, not after what you did for my precious granddaughter, that is the very least I can do."

Cloud accepted the pass without further comment. "Thank you."

Their visit pretty much ended very shortly when Cloud got the pass and they were all headed to the gate that would lead them within the city. However, Aeris knew that it would be rather suspicious if the guards all saw them go together. They couldn't split either; there was only one pass.

"_You need not worry,"_ the voice whispered. _"You have the power. You actually don't need that thing. All you have to do is to talk to the guard…and he'll let you in, as much in the same way that your companion can not resist to your suggestions."_

"_I was thinking of that…but that would make me suspicious wouldn't it? Better to not let myself be revealed so soon, but it won't hurt to nudge things a bit to our advantage…just as long I'm not too obvious about it."_

The voice laughed. _"You're learning very quickly…"_ Aeris felt very pleased at that compliment.

Cloud stopped. "I don't think this will work…" he looked at the others then at the gate where a guard looked to be snoring at his post. "We look too suspicious."

Barret and Red looked at each other.

Aeris smiled as she placed a reassuring hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Why don't we try anyway? I'm sure it won't be much of a problem. The man is practically asleep. I don't think he'll notice too much."

Cloud looked about ready to protest, but gazing into her eyes he found it too difficult to resist her. What harm could her plan do? They couldn't get in any other way. He nodded finally in agreement, not really noticing how Tifa's eyes hardened when she glared at him. "All right, we'll try it your way."

He was rewarded by a bright smile that took his breath away and made Tifa fume even more. "That's great, let's go then!" she grabbed for his hand, as she tugged him playfully to the direction of the city gate.

"I can't believe her," Tifa muttered under her breath as she followed behind. "How can Cloud just go along with that?"

Barret apparently heard her and turned to Tifa. "Believe what? Spike's little crush?" Tifa steamed at that, Barret visibly winced at that. "Oh. Sorry."

"I've known him since childhood," Tifa began, ignoring his last comment as she glared at Aeris who was chatting up the sleepy guard. The guard didn't seem to mind them at all as he waved them through. "And Cloud isn't so easily distracted like this…"

Barret glanced at Aeris and Cloud and shrugged. "Well…with Aeris, there's something about her that makes it really hard to say no to her."

"I know…and that's what I'm worried about."

Meanwhile Cloud just looked pleasantly surprised when they found themselves inside Junon. "Well…that was easy."

"Too easy."

Aeris turned to Tifa, her voice sickeningly sweet. "Oh? But it got us in…didn't it?"

Cloud turned to the two women, suddenly aware of the tension between them. "Well it worked either way and I'm glad. But right now, I think it would be best if we split up. I heard from the guard that today is the President's inauguration so there'll be SOLDIERs and possibly the Turks around. I still need to bring Aeris to the doctor to get rid of the implant."

"Me and Red here head go off then," Barret replied. "But where do we meet?"

"The docks. I heard that Rufus is going to Costa del Sol using a ship so we'll be heading that way as well."

"How about you, Tif?" Barret turned to the brunette. She didn't seem to look too happy about the whole split up but she didn't speak.

She sighed, looking at the rather oblivious blonde and the witch beside him. "I'll go along with Barret and Red."

Cloud never saw the disappointed look in her eyes as he gave a nod. "Alright then. See you there once the inauguration is over. If we aren't there when the ship is about to leave, go ahead without us."

"Gotcha," Barret gruffly replied. "Come on, Tif, lets go and do what Spike says." Tifa looked hesitant looking at Cloud who now had his back on her and was leading Aeris through an alley. Her heart felt like breaking but she steeled herself. She couldn't let her win like this.

"Yeah. Let's go."

-oOo-

Sephiroth woke up, feeling a little tired and confused of the strange dream. Who was that child? And why did feel like he had seen her before…? It was strange, that old church. He'd seen it before but he couldn't remember either where.

He groaned, pushing aside the thin blankets. He could hear the band music and the excited chatter of people just outside his window. He almost forgot. Today was the day that the president would be arriving in Junon.

Well, his deal with the president was over and now he had to focus on finding the Ancient. He stood up, getting his shirt as he went to the toilet to get cleaned up and get dressed when he heard a soft beeping sound from his coat pocket.

Curious he picked it up and was surprised to see it was the device that Sylvia had given him last night. It was blinking and beeping incessantly. He frowned, wondering if it was broken. He carefully examined it, looking for anything to push or just to see if it was damaged in anyway when he accidentally touched something and a holovideo projection appeared with a map of what looked to be the city of Junon. A red dot marked a spot in one area of the city that Sephiroth recognized as the seedier parts of Junon.

"What the…" he looked at it in awe. He'd never seen anything like it before and was well aware that Shin-Ra did _not_ have this kind of technology. Upon closer inspection on the device, he saw the trademark of an eight-pointed star with the word Orion stamped on the bottom.

_This is a special device developed by our R&D department._

_Technology that Orion has unearthed and studied._

Was it possible that he was holding a piece of the technology of the Cetra? Just exactly how far have they gone? But he had little time to muse about that. He still needed to find Aeris. Still, he can't help but think about that strange woman. There was something about her…that he felt was dangerous…and yet so achingly familiar.

There was a soft beep and the holovideo map disappeared. He placed the device back into his pocket just as he shrugged on his coat. Right now he had other things to think of, like breakfast for one.

-oOo-

The clinic was sparse and it was rather shocking to see that it was located in the absolute worst part of town. Well it wasn't so bad compared to the slums of Midgard. At least here the sun could still shine it, still it wasn't enough to erase the squalor.

The nurse that greeted them was a rather plain looking girl, with mousy brown hair and lenses that hid her eyes. She looked rather surprised to see Cloud, and there was a slight blush on her cheeks. "Oh Cloud! I didn't think you'd visit us again so soon. Please, come in both of you," she opened the clinic door and led them to a small waiting room where an old man sat down waiting. To her relief, the place was clean, the scent of antiseptic and alcohol tickling her nose.

"Hello, Rina," Cloud greeted her, not really noticing how the girl practically shied behind the clipboard she was holding. "We're here to see Dr. Kenneth. Is he in?"

There was a series of excited nods. "Oh…oh yes! He's here. He's just examining Mrs. Marshal right now. I'll tell him you and your lady friend are here." She made her way to the door with the metal plate and the name Dr. Kenneth Sands etched on it. It wasn't a very long wait, hardly ten minutes had passed when the door opened again and the nurse was escorting an old woman out. She looked up to Cloud and Aeris smiling. "You can go in. He's waiting."

Cloud and Aeris stood up, but they didn't immediately go in. Instead, Cloud turned to her, his expression was solemn, and she could see concern reflected in his gaze. "Are you nervous?"

Of a little pain? She wanted to laugh at him. Concern? How pathetic. He didn't seem this concerned when he abandoned her at Don Corneo's mercy. Aeris smiled and shook her head. "A little," she said softly. "It won't hurt so much would it?"

"Of course not. Dr. Kenneth is the best physician I know. Trust me," Cloud gently guided her inside.

Once inside Aeris turned to the doctor, expecting to see someone old. Instead she saw a man his late twenties. He had shoulder length black hair, his eyes were the color of the sea and they were hidden behind a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He had a face that she could only describe as ageless.

"Cloud," the doctor stood up, his rather solemn gaze turned to him before shifting to her. His eyes seemed to tense up a bit when he looked at her but immediately relaxed. His voice was deep and solemn when he spoke. "It has been a while. What can I do for you?"

He nodded. "It's about my friend," he places a hand on her shoulder. "Shin-Ra implanted something on her arm. We were hoping you could find a way to take it out."

The doctor didn't seem too shocked at that and he didn't ask any questions as he motioned Aeris closer. She obeyed, shrugging off her jacket and revealing her right arm. And there on her upper arm was along thin scar. It was almost invisible and Aeris didn't even notice it until Cloud had mentioned it.

Warm hands held her arm as the young doctor examined it, gently probing the flesh and muscle, trying to find where it is. She winced when he pressed a little too hard on the scar.

"I'll have my nurse give you an x-ray," he finally spoke. "It's tiny but it's there, just below her skin. The x-ray can give me a clearer picture on where to operate."

"So you can?" Cloud looked relieved. The doctor was already summoning his nurse who immediately came in.

"Yes. Of course, it's a fairly simple procedure. I'll be done in a few hours," he replied as he turned to his nurse. "Rina, I need you to prep Ms. Gainsborough for her x-ray and once that's done prep her for surgery." He added almost absently. "You'd better wait outside, Cloud. This will take a while."

"Thank you. About the payment—"

The doctor cut him off. "It's alright. You don't have to pay me now." He gave him a rather dismissive wave, telling him without words that he'd rather be alone right now. Cloud nodded, following Rina and Aeris as they left him alone.

The door just closed behind him when a thought came to him. Wait just a moment…he didn't recall telling him her name…

-oOo-

Reno had been smoking his fifth cigarette in the last ten minutes. It was morning and he was lounging on a well-worn settee in an inn waiting. He looked down at his hand, his fingers toying with a small white round stone that resembled much like a pearl, only bigger than a child's marble. It was caught in the petals of a silver rose and suspended in a platinum chain.

_Aeris…_

He sighed as he turned to look at the stone in the light. _Where are you, kid?_ He thought to himself as he absently flicked the cigarette butt on the growing mound of ash and used up cigarettes on the ash tray. _God if anything happened to you…_ He suddenly swore, slamming his lighter on the side table beside him, startling the passing innkeeper who stared at him with some nervousness.

Reno took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and at the same time resisted the urge to grab his cigarettes. He had been smoking and drinking heavily more so than before ever since Aeris was caught. He can't help but think of the last memories they spent together, safe in their own world, under the watchful eye of the church as it hid them from a cruel reality filled with such greed and neglect. A time when things were less complicated.

_Geez, Reno, if you continue smoking like a chimney you'll end up smelling like one._

Soft hands rubbing against his back. _I keep telling you to quit but do you ever listen? No! Now look at you, you've been coughing non-stop for almost two weeks now!_

A soft laughter, like bells in the cool air. _Hey! Knock it out…I'm not seven anymore…_

"I wish you were…" he softly whispered to the stone in his hand, watching as he curled his fingers around it. He closed his eyes, wanting badly that this was nothing but a horrible dream, but it was real…as real as the pain of the pendant cutting against his palm.

"_I'll bring you home…I promise…"_ he swore to himself, just as a shadow loomed over him. He looked up.

Sephiroth had gone down, hoping to find some breakfast before heading out when he noticed a sober, if not depressed Turk lounging in the same inn he was in. He didn't think it was hardly a coincidence and found it was best if he knew what he wanted and be done with it.

Reno had looked up and Sephiroth noticed that he looked far worse for wear. He had heavy bags under his eyes and his hair was even rattier than it usually was. The Turk quickly shoved something into his pocket which he felt was faintly magical. Materia maybe. "What do you want?"

Sephiroth watched as Reno picked up another stick of cigarette, lightening it first and totally ignoring the 'No Smoking' sign posted on the wall beside him. The innkeeper had done nothing of course, he knew better than to further agitate a Turk.

"You're after Aeris," it was more of a statement than a question. "I'm coming with you."

Sephiroth was annoyed. He didn't need Shin-Ra's lackeys dogging him each step of the way. "No."

"You don't have a choice."

"I've fulfilled my end of the bargain," he brushed past him, walking towards the door when he heard the Turk swear, the sound of a chair's legs scrapping against the wooden floor at being pushed back roughly.

"This isn't about your fucking deal with Shin-Ra!" Reno yelled at his back. The passion in his voice, the anger and desperation he heard is what made Sephiroth pause. The silence within the inn was almost deafening, most of the people have wisely fled, eager to avoid the possible bloodshed that might happen between the two men.

"This isn't about Shin-Ra…Orion or your stupid fucking mission," he spat, anger boiling within him. Alone, Reno knew that the chances of finding Aeris and trying to subdue her would be next to impossible. He needed Sephiroth's help like it or not. "This is about Aeris."

Sephiroth stood there, not moving…not speaking. _"He couldn't understand…" _Reno thought, his fists unclenching and clenching, trying to find the words to make him understand what he wanted to say but couldn't. But rather spoke the first things his heart had been yearning since the night he heard that Tseng had brought her in.

"I'm bringing her back home."

There was an even longer if not tense silence. Reno waited, and his stomach nearly lurched when the silver haired General gave a clip nod. "I know where she is."

-oOo-

The operation was done faster than what she had initially thought. Local anesthesia had only been needed as the doctor skillfully operated on her. It was strange how Aeris noted that the doctor both used traditional scientific medicine with Materia magic.

He was sewing on the wound, and through out the whole process he had not spoken a word to her. _"But why does it feel like I know him…"_ she thought to herself. Still it was not an unpleasant silence.

Warmth tingled on her skin, motes of green energy floating just above the wound and watched the scar slowly heal, her skin flawless and hardly a mark where the stitches were.

"There…it's done," his voice was gentle, letting go of her arm. "You'll be fine. I'll have the nurse prescribe you some antibiotics, to avoid infection," he said, turning away to get his prescription pad and began scribbling on it.

The rest of the words were a blur to Aeris, watching him. There was something about him that tickled her mind. A smiling face of a man in white, there was a bright flash of light as she felt a strong pair of arms carrying her away. She heard a woman's voice…her mother's? What was this, a memory perhaps?

"Here," he handed the note to the startled young woman. "You should go. Your friend has been waiting outside."

There was no hiding the regret she could hear in his voice and the strange kind of sadness in them that made her think. She has heard of those words…but where?

"Thank you." She took the prescription, and walked out of the door, looking once back at the doctor who was already busy with something else.

The door closed with a click, and Dr. Sands sighed, leaning against his chair, his eyes closed. "I never thought…" he opened them again as he reached to pull open a drawer and pick up what looked to be a photograph. It was old and the edges were worn with age. The colors were almost faded but did little to hide the smiling young man in the picture, holding up a little girl no more than five in a pink dress in his arms. Beside him was another woman, with long brown hair and eyes the same shade of green as the girl's. They looked to be in a park of some sort.

"Oh, Ifalna…if only you could see her…" he whispered as he gently thumbed the photograph. "She looks exactly like you…"

-oOo-

I'm so sorrrrrryyyy! It's been a long time! I've been doing a lot of stuff right now, mostly personal. My mom's health has been ailing so I'm at her side most of the time, and there was this serious case of mental block. I'll try to update some more…well hopefully more. Will be putting up my own webpage soon too…wahh I need proofreaders and editors! Email me!


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